New Kids on the Block
by Lightning Ash
Summary: Buu didn't just accidentally tunnel an exit to the outside world from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He accidentally DESTROYED the training dimension itself, sending each of them away to new realities.
1. Go with the Flow

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

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"What…?" A short, long, golden haired youth trembled, agitated, mouth agape as he stood on the very air itself, "What the heck did that big, dumb, bubble gum pink jerk do?" Remembering the extremely obnoxious blowhorn-like yell the pink-skinned monstrosity of godlike-plus might let off soured the electricity-shrouded boy's expression. A single pinkie dug out his ear, 'Sides bursting my darned ear drums out."

Allowing his small, yet muscular arms to droop to his sides, the strongest merged warrior on the planet released a sigh before scanning his surroundings, stretching out his senses for any familiar signatures, "Can't sense either Mr Piccolo or that pink jerk," He grimaced in worry, a sinking feel of bad premonition settling itself in his muscled stomach.

He couldn't sense anyone. Either of the fused warriors' mothers, their fathers, their friends, no one. Just a myriad of smaller, almost non-existent ki-signatures that would've put many regular humans to shame, though none came within even a hair of matching the superhumans like Krillin, even the few gigantic energy pools he sensed spread out across the lands.

"This is bad," He murmured, bending his knees before springing off on a take-off like rocket-charge, short muscular frame being engulfed in a golden aura of immense power, passing entire regions within mere seconds, 'I don't recognize anything!' He searched region after region, looking down at the blurring lands for any sight of the advanced technology he had become accustomed to seeing just walking through the streets of his own world.

Cement roads, traffic lights, tall skyscrapers, circular, dome-like buildings, hover cars and even just normal cars, all of which were frighteningly scarce in the boy's frantic observation of the lands of the enigmatic realm he found himself in. Instead, what he found was the polar opposite of everything that made up his world, making it look futuristic by comparison. Dirt roads spawned everywhere, with carriages being carried by horses travelling across them, wide open deserts without a single oasis in sight and even a land shrouded in rain greeted the young warrior's eyes. He circled the world, creating golden streaks of yellow lightning across the globe multiple times to assure his blue eyes weren't playing tricks on him, but each time revealed the same primitive reality he had somehow wandered into.

"This is nuts," He whispered, floating back to where he originally started, "It's like I've somehow ended up back in time. But then, where's Mr Piccolo and or that Buu-guy?" He folded his arms and legs, levitating in the air in a criss-cross meditative stance, "Well, I'm sure Mr Piccolo's okay. Buu, though! I hope he ended up somewhere really bad, like a planet of girls so he can catch cooties!" He snickered.

He descended from his perch up in the sky, hoping to come across any leads that could potentially set him on his way.

If nothing else, at least Buu could no longer harm his family and friends.

New Kids on the Block

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 **ONE**

Go with the Flow

A hand clad in a fingerless lightly armoured glove touched down at the eerie calm moving waters beneath his squatted posture as though it was solid earth itself with terrifying realization, lone normal eye widening in horrified recognition of the terrain that distinctly belonged to his adversary.

"No!" He exclaimed hoarsely. The swift, near instantaneous-like movement blurring into his senses directly behind him churned his stomach, and the multiple flapping of hands caused his skin to crawl like spiders had landed on him.

"Too late!" His opponent assured gruffly, slamming a bandaged wrapped hand just above his head. Magnetically, his darkened, unhealthily greyed hand swirled the waters around the silver, gravity defying haired man, lifted it up and merged around him to create a perfectly clear view spherical orb, "Water Prison Jutsu!"

"No…" The red eyed man breathed out in a gasping whisper, hastily glancing over to shore to three kids surrounding a trembling bespectacled old man in a protective formation, "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, take Tazuna and run! This mission was over the moment I got caught!"

He could hear his captor chuckling malevolently, making him clinch his fist in bitter resentment of being unable to silence him, "Not a chance Kakashi of the Sharingan. Your little baby-faced brats are going to die, just like the old man."

A spiky headed blond-haired boy with three sets of distinctive scar-like birthmarks marking each of his cheeks yelled out a shuddering roar of defiant will, shaky as it was with his trembling knees and palms, "N-No!"

Kakashi's adversary, the infamed demon of the mist Zabuza Momochi, snickered cruelly at the convenience falling in his favour, "Heh-heh. Well, he's making my job easier."

"Naruto!" Kakashi roared back, tone authoritative as it was urgent, "This is no time to act insubordinately! Zabuza's a Jounin-ranked shinobi! He's way out of your league! He'll destroy you all! If you understand that much, take Tazuna and run! Forget about me!"

B-But, but…" He stuttered, gulping down a lump of apprehension to speak out against the injustice of abandoning their only recently employed sensei, glancing down to his fists that would not cease shaking, "You said 'those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum'!"

Kakashi seriously wanted to pound his head against the proverbial walls of his makeshift prison. It was already a pain arguing with someone who was inherently stubborn only for the stubborn person to make their task of convincing them that much more of an annoyance by using their own words against them.

The masked scarecrow understood how hypocritical he must've sounded to the boy by practically teaching him and his other squad mates shinobi should never abandon one of their own only to throw that out of the window by ordering him to leave him, their sensei, behind. He understood that, and yet, he desired them to go against his first lesson, because he didn't want to see them die.

"I say we fight," Naruto suggested resolutely, finally willing his hands to steady trembles by clenching them audibly into fists.

"You have a point," The other boy mumbled aside him, polar opposite to the blond. Contrasting Naruto's bright sky-blue eyes of brimming, vibrant positivity were Sasuke's cool, dark, sharp onyx orbs hinting at an analytical mind, "If we just free Kakashi, we should be good." Even their clothes reflected their status on the yin-and-yang spectrum. While Naruto sported a hideously ugly, but luminescent orange jumpsuit with blue shoulder pads and a white collar portraying his bright personality, Sasuke flaunted a high collared, short sleeved dark blue t shirt bearing the distinctive red and white fan insignia of his clan on his back and white shorts reaching (to) his knees.

In fact, the only identical clothing the two both happened to be wearing were their blue toed sandals and headbands tied tightly around their foreheads bearing the distinctive six-styled leaf insignia tying them as solders to their village.

"Oh?" The lone female of the newbie trio perked up at her teammate's composed observation. Blessed with a curvy frame, the leaf-emerald eyed kunoichi sported a pretty, long crimson red dress open at the sides to allow movability, complementing her long cherry-blossomed coloured hair, over a pair of dark biker shorts to reserve her decency, "You're right Sasuke! If we just get Kakashi-sensei out of there he can cream this guy!" Much like the boys, she too wore a pair of toed blue sandals and possessed a six-styled leaf-marked headband tied around her forehead.

"I wouldn't depend on it too much," Sasuke didn't mean to sound like a wet blanket, especially now of all times where their lives were in serious legitimate danger of ending, but he was a realist above all else. It was in his very nature to analyse all possible situations and outcomes and conclude the rational one as opposed to just optimistically believing everything would all work out in their favour, "Ideally, we want Kakashi to win, but considering Zabuza got the drop on him already it wouldn't be too much to expect he could potentially do so again."

"Quit being such a downer, Sasuke!" Naruto accused, squinted-eyed, pointing a furious finger to Sasuke's dismissive visage, "If we just get Kakashi-sensei outta there that'll be that! He'll kick his butt!"

Sasuke clicked his teeth in annoyance, intoning in his usual baritone voice, "Tch. Still annoying."

"What was that, bastard!?"

"Forget it!" He quickly dismissed, because now wasn't the time for infighting among themselves, "Let's just focus on getting Kakashi out of there." Naruto pouted, crossing his arms, sulking, but otherwise dropped the issue entirely.

"What's the plan, Sasuke?" Sakura asked solemnly. The utter seriousness in his own crush's voice was more than enough incentive for Naruto to sober up, glancing over to the unofficial strategist of the team with a grim determined gaze of his own.

"I say we just bombard Zabuza with everything we have," Sasuke opted, scrutinizing their trapped sensei and his jailor closely, "Judging from the position he's in I assume he has to stay within touching range of his jutsu to maintain it, so if we force him to dodge that should cancel the jutsu, effectively freeing Kakashi." Sakura's cheeks lit up with several shades of pink matching her hair in awe at Sasuke's clever breakdown of Zanuza's water release technique while Naruto gaped, envious of Sasuke's battle intelligence.

Even Zabuza smirked, albeit cruelly, at the surprising efficiency of which a baby-faced rookie shinobi was able to deconstruct his technique, 'Kid's not bad.'

Kakashi's Sharingan eye was practically glowing with pride, 'He was able to ascertain how Zabuza's water prison jutsu works and the most effective way to counter it by just mere observation,' He mused, 'Sasuke, you really are a genius.' Zabuza's deep, rumbling sniggers, however, told him it wouldn't be that simple for his wonder kids to liberate him from his fabricated prison, 'What is he planning?'

"That's assuming I'll just let you attack me, brat!" He bellowed, and Kakashi's apprentices stiffened in realization of overlooking the probability of their adversary possessing any ranged jutsu to throw at them. Zabuza smirked extra sadistically at their alarm before forming a single hand sign with his one unused hand; a hand sign Naruto recognized.

"H-Hey, I know that hand sign…" He trembled, getting his two teammates to look at him in petrified acknowledgement. Each of the rookie Genin waited with bated breath, hearts tightening in their chests when a pillar of water rose up in front of Zabuza, mimicking his shape down to the latter and materializing with all his features, bandaged wrapped face, shirtless, muscled torso, cargo pants, thick boots, short black hair and a headband tied around his forehead displaying a scratched out fog-like symbol.

The water-made entity was a perfect replica of Zabuza Momochi.

"W-What is he?" The old man in between the youngsters trembled, eyes shaking at the horror of which they were seeing.

"Water Clone Jutsu!"

"Shit…" Kakashi cursed underneath his breath, bellowing out orders afterward, "Run, you guys!"

Naruto sucked in shuddering breaths, swallowing down his renewed fear and once again trying to cease the endless trembling of his fists, "N-No!"

"Heh!" Clone Zabuza smirked, charging after the newbies, causing Kakashi to panic, "Like I'll let them run Sharingan Kakashi!"

"Run!" He panicked, squeezing his eyes shut in the assertion.

"No, never!" Naruto roared back in defiance, "I can't run now, not after I made a promise to myself that I'd never run again!" He whipped out a kunai, flying forward with all the reckless abandon of a madman rushing bears while shouting Leroy Jenkins, "C'mon Mummy-face! I'll take you on!"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled out in concern.

Clone Zabuza smirked once more, absolutely loving his job. Sadistic gratification took an immediate backseat for curiosity, however, dark eyes catching sight of an unbelievable speedy blur appearing behind the rushing Genin, materializing into the most bizarre muscled kid he had ever seen, said muscly kid pulling Naruto off of his feet, consequently ending his charge, 'Who. The. Hell. Is. He?' He halted.

The others wasn't flaring any better. The strange boy had materialized so quickly and unexpectedly time itself seemingly drew to an standstill, neither side making a move as Naruto thrashed in the boy's mighty grip to free himself.

'Where'd he come from?' Kakashi attempted to rationalize, 'Could he be on Zabuza's side?' He glanced discreetly to his jailor, feeling a little relieved finding a similarly slumped expression upon his bandaged face, 'Good, it doesn't seem like that's the case, but that still begs the question of where he came from and why,' He scanned the boy's muscular six-pack. Normal children should not be that ripped.

'What the-?" Sakura stuttered, falling to her behind in the shock of the sudden materialization of an entity she could only describe was a god itself. The boy looked like so… _heavenly,_ and _divine_ , to her stunned eyes. A muscular frame barely covered by his waist high sleeveless black jacket, golden hair spiked up, styled like a volcano, shrouded in an flaming golden aura that lit up her emerald eyes, 'What is this guy?'

"Whoa! Cool your jets, kid," The boy spoke, voice distorted, warped, and multi-layered.

Naruto froze at hearing an unknown voice resonating behind him. Carefully, he spun his head, eyes widening to the glowing boy deadpanning a look at him, "Who…" He breathed, "Are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He smirked, brimming of arrogance that could've easily put Sasuke to shame. Naruto frowned, squinting an eye suspiciously at the super powered youth, "The cavalry."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Wait… You're gonna help us?"

"Something like that," He grinned sheepishly, further confusing Naruto. Sighing, the merged warrior casually threw him back over to his teammates, smirking at the cry of indignation he let off afterward, "Let the big kids handle this one."

"Wait!" Zabuza wanted to laugh sardonically at the implications. Fortunately his clone was laughing hard enough for the both of them, "You're gonna handle me?" He threw his head back, chortling away, "You're just a brat! What could you do what Kakashi of the Sharingan couldn't?! Run along home to mommy before you get hurt, brat," He grinned wickedly, "I tend to scar."

Gotenks paid no heed to the older man's hubris, instead winding out his arm in a circular motion. His unofficial spectators, the three kids and the old man, watched him with bated breath, "Don't take this personally, Mummy-guy," He quipped, causing veins of irritation to bulge out on the eyebrows of Zabuza and his clone, "I'm just blowing off some steam." He bent his knees, thickening the tension in the air before he shot off, knocking everyone into stupors at the speed of his charge.

"What?" Zabuza gaped, eyes almost bulging out of his sockets when the boy literally _steamrolled_ through his clone, dissipating it easily, 'How can a brat have such _power_!' An audible whoosh caused him to blink and stumble back, cringing in horrified amazement at the wicked smirk of the boy just inches before his face, 'He's fast!'

"Dum! Dum! Dum! Special delivery!" He pantomimed, winding up for a punch, "For one Mummy-guy! Your order? One knuckle sandwich!"

Zabuza hastily readied his sword, quickly planning to block the super brat's punch and sever his arm from the elbow by way of countering as he watched the punch driving toward his blade as if in slow motion, 'Heh, he may be fast but he has no battle experience! I'll sever his arm off first then lop off his head!" And that should be that.

…If his fist didn't bulldoze through his blade like a jackhammer smashing a sword in half, rendering it effectively useless as the larger half of the blade flew off into parts unknown, e.g the lake.

"What?" Zabuza's widened eyed vision of petrified astonishment saw stars right before he was blown back by the force of a punch that completely shattered all of his senses, "Gah!"

"No way," Kakashi trembled, now free of the spherical orb that had imprisoned him, shakily turning his head over his shoulder to where Zabuza had been blasted like a cannon ball, 'What strength! He might be as strong as Lady Tsunade!' He felt a strong tug at the scruff of his neck, which turned out to be the only warning he got as he was flung across the ocean back to the shore like a slingshot.

'Yep,' He mused woozily, eye smiling while in the motion of forcing his body to back flip in mid-air so he could slam his feet upon the surface of the water to slow his momentum, 'Definitely as strong, if not, stronger than Lady Tsunade.' He managed to complete his endeavour, skidding to a stop just in front of his squad and Tazuna.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He was flanked by Sakura and Naruto, "Are you okay?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked in concern.

Kakashi straightened, trying to observe the explicit one-sided beating of an infamous rogue ninja with his Sharingan but only succeeding to pick up circular-shaped shockwaves of pure speed before Zabuza's airborne rag-dolled body was batted in another direction. He sighed, shaking his head, "I'm fine," He insisted, covering his Sharingan with his headband, effectively shutting it off for the time being, "Thanks to our 'new friend' that is."

Neither Genin missed the distinct air quotes around 'friend,' though only Sasuke caught on to the subtle implications of the super powered youth being an enemy ninja in disguise, "About that," Sakura began, nervously rubbing her arm, eyes drifting over to the spectacle unseen to her eyes. Only the voluminous sounds of thunderclaps echoing in the distance was her only indication a fight was even going on.

She shook her head before rubbing her eyes, but still saw nothing but heard plenty, "Where did that kid come from?"

"I know, right?" Naruto perked up, bouncing on his heels to the sheer invisibility the super powered boy cloaked himself in with pure speed alone, "Guy showed up out of nowhere, but he's totally awesome!" He cringed, hollering in excitement as thunderclaps rang out, "He's crazy strong!"

Kakashi chuckled, eye-smiling at Naruto's enthusiasm, "Well I suppose we could always ask him, if he's willing to answer a few questions. He doesn't seem like a bad fellow," Naruto and Sakura nodded at him before turning back to their futile attempts to track Gotenks' movements, 'Though that might be what he _wants_ us to believe.'

"I'm just glad he's on our side," Tazuna said, his appreciation being met with the body of their adversary being slammed violently several feet from them with enough force to leave him surrounded by a small crater. Zabuza withered, grunting, then screaming in agony, desperately trying with all the might his pride could muster to at least push himself up to his knees before collapsing in a bloody pulp, bandaged mouth a stain of blood.

"Gah…"

"Yeah, no kidding," Naruto said dully, receiving nods of a similar nature from the others.

"Dum! Dum! Dum!" Their saviour exclaimed brassily, dropping down from the sky like an anchor to extend his arm across his chest, holding his head up high, "The hero of justice, Gotenks, triumphs again!" Needlessly to say, his overly dramatics received a mix reception from his audience.

'That was so lame!' Sakura deadpanned.

'This is the guy that saved us? What a total loser!' Sasuke also deadpanned.

'He's an interesting fellow,' Kakashi eye smiled.

"Yeah! That was totally awesome!" Naruto cheered, feeding the boy's already gigantic ego.

Gotenks dropped his overly dramatic pose when he noticed Zabuza's already thoroughly battered form, "Huh?" He lifted an eyebrow, grimacing at the winces of the man he had beaten down without even breaking a sweat, "Oh man, seriously? You're down for the count already? I was going easy, you wuss!" He bashed, looking away in disgust from the battered man desperately trying to claw his bandages off to puke his guts out, "So lame!"

Sasuke gaped, 'That was going easy!' He looked at the eccentric kid in a new light; one that was envious of his power, 'Just how strong is this guy?'

Gotenks shook his head, fisting his hips in his disappointment, "Man, what a waste of energy," And then, to the utter amazement of the Konoha contingent and old man they were guarding, the gold of his hair faded to a strange combination of raven black and lavender purple, and that wasn't the only thing that dissipated either. The glow shrouding his form faded, his eyes becoming onyx pools of nonchalance, "Bummer."

"Your hair," He turned, eyeing the whiskered cheeked boy that heavily resembled his ascended form and the finger he pointed at him, "How'd you do that?"

"Oh, that?" He asked with a shrug, "I just powered down cuz I was just wasting energy otherwise. No big deal."

'Powered down?' Sasuke mused, gawking.

"Interesting," Kakashi hummed. Only his supreme experience in the world of supernatural and wacky techniques kept him level headed at the implications of a potentially new bloodline, "I assume you're able to transform similar to a bloodline, correct?"

"Pretty much," He nodded, "in this state I can go up to three. Otherwise I can only transform once when I'm separated."

"By separated," Kakashi quoted, voicing his students' thoughts as well, "What do you mean exactly?"

Gotenks opened his mouth to reply when he remembered his merged state was on a timer before it would wear off, purging him once more, "Aw, never mind. You'll see for yourself when the fusion wears off."

"Fusion!" Sasuke gaped while Sakura gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Gotenks just nodded casually, as if it wasn't any secret to hide, 'Just what the hell is this guy talking about? He merged with another kid to become this strong?!'

"Okay," Naruto shrugged, entirely slumped, "You're pretty weird."

"Speak for yourself, blondie."

"Hey!"

While the hyper powerful enigma snickered teasingly at Naruto, prompting him to pout and cross his arms over his chest a pair of thin, almost indiscernible, projectiles were fired from the canopy, bypassing the group entirely to embed themselves directly in Zabuza's shoulders. The group stiffened, staring with wide eyes as the rogue ninja let out a cry of agony before falling into the blissful realm of unconsciousness.

"W-What?" Naruto uttered, voicing everyone's confusion aloud.

"My regrets," A feminine, soft voice was heard amidst the forestry behind them. Within an instant Gotenks' head snapped in the direction of the voice, onyx lenses locking onto the new contestant, silently impressing the masked Jounin near him. Mentally, Kakashi chalked sensor as one of the possible abilities possessed by the boy.

"His body holds many secrets," Trained eyes never leaving a dashing blur, a young girl no older than him and Kakashi's charges landed by the unconscious Zabuza's side, dressed in baggy, dark green samurai-like hakama, greenish-blue kimono with white outlines, and wooden sandals fitted neatly on the girl's feet. She was incredibly slender, having a dark green sash wrapped around her curvy waist that emphasized this. In fact, if it wasn't for her white porcelain white and red striped mask covering her delicate face Gotenks would've thought she was cute.

"Okay," He shrugged, "I'll bite. Who the heck are you?"

"I'm a hunter nin."

"Okay," He raised his eyebrow, deadpanning.

The self-proclaimed hunter of ninjas only made a single hand sign after swinging one of Zabuza's arms over her shoulder, "I must go," From her feet, up to her head, the girl's entire body dispelled in three fragments of mist-like blurs, mimicked by Zabuza's, essentially signalling their departure.

Gotenks' eyes lit up like stars, "So cool! It's like Dad's instantaneous transmission technique."

Kakashi raised a discreet eyebrow to the boy's reaction to a jutsu pretty common in the shinobi line of work. Given his level of power, he would've assumed he would know of such common speed techniques if not know them himself already, "This your first time witnessing the Body Flicker Technique?"

"That's what that neat teleportation-thing's called?" He nodded, "Yep. Never heard of it."

'Interesting.' His general ignorance on the most known of Shinobi techniques implied his village either never taught them to him or he wasn't a shinobi. Considering his power, it would've been ludicrous of him being a shinobi and not having knowledge on some of the most mundane techniques in the lands. Not to mention contradictory. Skilled shinobi with high striking power and extreme natural speed usually tended to know the body flicker technique.

'Could he have come from outside the Elemental Nations?' The possibility of an outsider visiting the Elemental Nations for whatever reason yet to be discerned was there. Life beyond the ninja lands were largely uncharted. For all anyone knew, the kids on the neighbouring continents could've been born with natural Kage-level strength, 'I don't see a headband on him.' That just added weight to the idea of the boy being beyond the Elemental Nations.

"Alright," He coolly ended his observation of the enigma, giving his team a sidelong glance, "Let's proceed to Tazuna's village."

"Yes sir!" Naruto saluted him, while the others gave him simple nods.

Kakashi turned back to their saviour, "Would you accompany us?" He asked, giving him what he hoped was a comforting smile of the eye, "I would like to ask you some questions, particularly about the fusion jutsu you mentioned?"

"Yeah, sure," Gotenks yawned and stretched, falling into step with the rest of the team, "Ain't doing anything else anyway."

"So, man?" Naruto asked, rounding to the boy's side with an excited gleam. Gotenks got the feeling he was going to like this kid, "What's your name? I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Heh, you can just call-." Before he could finish his cocky introduction, his entire muscular frame was eclipsed by an near blinding white light of a great luminescence, stopping everyone in their tracks as they turned, their gaping expressions embellished by the light being emitted from the boy's body itself.

"What the heck?!" Naruto gawked, shielding his eyes, "What's happening to him?"

Just then, the great blob of light intensity multiplied into two, as if purging essences of itself from one entity, and separated, shortly fading to reveal two sheepishly chuckling boys each possessing one of the two hair colours of Gotenks.

"Eh?" Naruto summarized eloquently.

The boy possessing the wildest porcupine-like hairstyle he had ever witnessed and probably his preferred of the two since he was wearing awesome orange clothes, chuckled some more, flashing them all the most infectious distinctive grin any of them had ever saw, "Woops."

"Well," The other boy rubbed the back of his head. Thankfully his hair design wasn't nearly as eccentric as his fellow purged entity, being a simple down-to-earth lavender-coloured bowl cut, "You wanted to know about fusion, right? Well, that's it."

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 **And does it for chapter one, and yeah, I did increase Goten and Trunks' ages a bit to fit in with the other rookies. I'm also going to refrain from using any and most Japanese terminology, so no honorifics or "Hi no Kuni." Weeb-ing a fic up does not make it better and while I'm fond of honorfics, I understand not everyone likes them so they will be absence from this story.**


	2. The Bridge of Eternal Pride

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

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"So THAT's why your voice sounded so weird when you were that Gotenks-guy!"

The Konoha contingent of shinobi and now purged two enigmatic boys had successfully made it to Tazuna's house, much to the overjoyed relief of his daughter who practically bear-hugged the lives out of the Saiyan boys when her father informed her that it was due to their timely intervention of why they ultimately arrived all in one piece. The walk was entirely unperturbed from any and all disturbances looking to make an attempt at Tazuna's life, just tense.

Very, very tense.

After all it wasn't everyday one had the fortune of witnessing a merged technique like the one the boys unintentionally revealed with their fusion expiring. They did their best to assure them they really were two different people who had the luxury of becoming one mighty entity a hundred times stronger than their normal selves. Well, more like Trunks did all the work summarizing fusion.

Goten just blithely acclimated to the unfamiliar wildlife they strolled by, somehow convincing a butterfly to land delicately on the tip of his finger. Tazuna and Sakura thought he looked absolutely adorable being so attuned with nature. Anyone of the Konoha team and even Tazuna could tell the boy spent much time playing carefree jungle boy in the woods.

"Pretty much." Trunks shrugged, tying his arms behind his head, sitting on the right side of Naruto, his best friend on the other. Naruto and Goten had hit it off right away, chatting animatedly on the way to Tazuna's village as though they had known each other for years. It was as though they were kindled spirits destined to meet.

"There's one thing I still don't get though," Trunks groaned, already knowing what was coming next. He had come to expect either some form of mockery or measure of scepticism after he introduced himself to new people.

It was just his curse of being born into a family who had the quirky tradition of naming their children after clothes' products.

"For the last time, Naruto, yes!"

"You don't even know what I want to ask!"

"Does it have anything to do with my name?" Trunks deadpanned, lowering his brows suspiciously at the Super Saiyan look alike, causing the blond to break out in a cold sweat.

"Uh…" Trunks could easily tell Naruto was going to be a terrible liar. The cat faced boy couldn't keep a straight face under his relatively nonchalant scrutiny to save his life, "No…" Ah, and there it was, a fumbled, poorly given lie complete with flailing of the palms as though he was trying to illustrate a point.

"You have to admit it's a pretty strange name," Sasuke chimed in, surprisingly defending Naruto considering the two had been mostly at the other's throat for their short time together as a team, and when Sasuke, the resident pretty boy of his class, agreed on anything, Sakura, one of his decidedly unwanted groupie members, was sure to voice her agreement as a way to get in his good graces.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it is weird," She pointed out, happily sitting next to her crush in between him and their sensei on the dinner table, lofting a single finger in the air in reasoning. Trunks sighed, suddenly wishing he could be anywhere but there, "What parents names their kid after underwear?"

"Mine..." Trunks deadpanned.

Naruto basically exploded, soaring to his feet in his overzealous relief of being backed in his insistence of Trunks' odd name, "That's what I'm saying!" He yelled, unsettling the butterfly on Goten's finger, though the boy was luckily able to calm it before it flew. Naruto, however, never noticed Goten's pacifying of his new friend, instead gesturing his arms widely in Sakura's direction, "It's totally weird!"

Trunks frowned, mimicked by Sakura's, though hers was for another reason.

"Idiot! Keep your hands out of my face!" She demanded, slamming a fist down on the surface of their borrowed table, spooking Naruto and unfortunately for Goten, his new companion too as it flapped its wings and flew off his finger.

"Aah! Sorry!"

"No! Come back, Rai!" With the exception of Trunks, everyone turned to stare bizarrely at Goten who had his arms outstretched in the flying butterfly's direction as though he had grown a second head. Even the normally stoic Uchiha cocked a questioning eyebrow at the eccentric porcupine hair-styled boy. Catching sights of the strange looks he was receiving because of his dramatics, Goten settled down instantly, caressing the back of his head and once more embellishing his adorable features with that contagious, distinguishing grin of his, "Hehe. Woops. Guess I got a little carried away there, huh?"

"Righttttt," Kakashi intoned, a hint of sarcasm laced in his otherwise calm tone, receiving a dirty look from the other boy on the other side of his blond-haired charge. It was very obvious the lavender-haired child didn't take kindly to anyone talking smack about his buddy, "Well I think that's enough questioning, for now," He shut a little orange book he had been reading audibly, assuaging Trunks' ire, "We should discuss training you three in the event we encounter Zabuza again."

"But sensei," Sakura perked up, emerald-green eyes drifting curiously to the masked Jounin, "I thought Gotenk-. Gote-. Trun-. UGH!" She grunted, tilting her head back to messily claw through her pink locks in irritation, the two Saiyan boys giving her varying reactions. Trunks was blinking oddly at her dramatics and Goten was just smiling widely, like always, "They," She grumped, gesturing to the two, "-Took care of Zabuza."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto entered the conversation, arms folding over his chest and head lobbing up cluelessly to the ceiling, "Didn't that hunter girl or whatever come in and finish off that Zabuza-jerk?"

Before Kakashi could explain the general basics of misdirection and deception of a ninja, Trunks provided an answer he never expected, but coincided with his theory all the same nonchalantly, folding his hands behind his head, "Oh, you mean that Zabuza-guy Goten and I creamed? Yeah, he's still kicking." It went without saying his absolute definitive answer of Zabuza's status earned him several raised eyebrows from those around him. Only, obviously, Goten was the only one at the table not giving him a questioning look.

"How do you know that?" Sasuke played spokesman for the lingering question on the minds of his comrades, his thirst for rapid improvement to achieve his goal wanting to obtain all he could knowledge-wise from a super strong kid no older than him. If these two could take on a Jounin-ranked shinobi, even merged with their unique fusion jutsu, then why couldn't he?

This was Sasuke's mentality as he discreetly probed Trunks for information on his abilities, onyx eyes sharpening over his bridged hands covering his nose.

Trunks tapped his temple, deadpanning at him, "I sensed him and that hunter girl together," He tossed up a shrug at Sasuke's increasing look of disbelief, "Turns out they're working together. Go figure." Though Trunks misinterpreted Sasuke's scepticism. It wasn't the fact that Zabuza had essentially duped them all into escaping uncaptured or even killed, it was the ability Trunks mentioned using to ascertain that possibility.

"You sensed him?!" Sasuke repeated, arms falling, eyes widening and body lurching forward. Beside him, Sakura held a shocked expression on her face also, complete with a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek.

"Uh, yeah?" Trunks confirmed, admittedly awkwardly. He made a face to the looks of awe he was getting from the newbie trio of ninja, "Why's that such a big deal? It's easy!"

"Sensory ninja aren't very common," Kakashi explained, cracking open his book, 'So I was right, one of them at least is a sensory type.'

Trunks scowled, "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Kakashi quipped back casually, turning a page of his book, "And they definitely aren't as strong as either of you guys potentially are. Sensory ninjas usually fall into the support-type role."

Trunks' expression soured further, small, muscular arms folding impatiently over his chest, "Well, we aren't ninjas, so?"

"I see that." Kakashi assured casually.

"Wait." Naruto requested, earning the full blunt of Trunks' frosty, dangerous frown. The boy seriously wasn't in the mood for any more questioning of either of his or Goten's abilities, "You're not ninjas, like us?"

"Duh." Trunks deadpanned.

"Wow," Naruto breathed out in a longing whisper, well, a whisper for him, awestruck eyes drifting off to the ceiling, "I've never met a real-life ninja outside the Elemental Nations before!" He quickly realized his mistake, however, "Oh, wait," He grinned sheepishly at Trunks' dry stare, "Heh-heh. My bad, fella."

"Numbskull."

"So then-," Sakura peered over to the two enigmas, eyes devoid of the hardened questioning a veteran shinobi like Kakashi would've when enquiring of the whereabouts of two insanely powerful preteen boys, "Where did you guys come from?" An innocent enough question, but still one Trunks hoped they could avoid until he could speak with the most experienced-looking member and only adult of the team, Kakashi.

Sadly, Goten didn't share that same foresight as him inherited from his super genius mother, "Oh!~" He readied blithely, "We came from anoth-." The tan-skinned palm of his best friend hastily pressing his face atop the surface of the dinner table faster than anyone could even so much as blink ended his admittance, leaving the trio of newbies staring in abject amazement of the instantaneous-like speed while their sensei's lone eye narrowed.

"Heh-heh. Sorry about this, he forgets stuff!" He excused, both hastily and flimsily, and he knew it as he gave the Konoha contingent his most forced sheepish smile ever, mentally cringing. Said smile vanished a moment later, however, eyes sharpening and arm draping tightly around Goten's neck, "Idiot! Don't say that! Do you want them to think we're weird?" He whispered harshly into his ear.

"Oh… okay, sorry Trunks. I wasn't thinking," Goten timidly whispered back, uncomfortably under the pressure of his best friend's mighty near choke-like hold.

"Darn right you wasn't!" Trunks reprimanded, just for good measure, harshly mock-throwing Goten's head from his arm, glowering in annoyance. A look he may or may not have intentionally glared at team seven with, eliciting varying degrees of fear from the rookie trio.

Naruto yelped, leaning so far back he almost fell out of his chair as he put his arms up in a silly pose.

Sakura gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

And Sasuke… Well, he was the most reserved in his fear of Trunks' foreboding anger, masquerading it under a mask of annoyance.

"Sorry," Trunks acknowledged, running his hand tiredly through his purple locks.

"What was that all about?" Kakashi asked, single eye narrowing in warning.

Trunks shook his head, sighing in irritation, "It's a long story," He stated, shooting his best friend a harsh glare which elicited a whimper from him as the slightly younger boy clamped his arms over his head protectively, "But it's not a secret though, I swear!" He hurried, flailing his held-up hands in protest, earning a raised eyebrow from the masked Jounin. He sighed again, berating himself for losing his composure before pocketing his hands, "It's just…" He made a face, "Kinda hard to swallow," He grumped mentally, 'More like totally unbelievable.' He mused, "I can tell _you_ later."

Once again Kakashi had his excellent experience in the world of oddity to thank for the implications the emphasis on the word you gave off, "Fair enough." He accepted, refocusing on the content of his little book of perversity once more, 'He's obviously the smart one of the two.' Kakashi had to give the boy credit for the foresight. He had the presence of mind to keep his friend from blurting out their place of origins knowing it would have been difficult – if not impossible – to comprehend how they ended up in their land.

That left the question hanging of what kind of mystical land practically off limits by normal methods could the two have come from for them to not just simply say where they came from? Kakashi had a theory pertaining to an earlier spectacle his team found right before their encounter with Zabuza.

'I wonder,' He mused, recalling a peculiar tear in the sky earlier in the day, almost as if the very sky was being curtained open, 'Does their arrival have anything to do with that?' It would certainly fit with Trunks' clear reluctance to part with their whereabouts and it was wholly implausible as he implied. It also had the potential to be used as a convenient cover story to get them a pass in their good graces, but since Kakashi honestly didn't think they were ninjas based on his interactions with them he dismissed it.

That left the entirely idealistic and fantastical possibility of them actually being from an alternate reality or another world. As unbelievable of that being the case Kakashi was open-minded to new occurrences. He had the feeling he would need to be when he had his eventual discussion with Trunks.

He peered over to the two boys from the top of his book as Trunks seated himself once more, tension still thick from his previous outburst, 'Just what are you two exactly?'

"Oh yeah," The lavender-haired demi Saiyan realized, glancing over to Kakashi with an questioning gaze, "If you had a hunch that hunter girl was in cahoots with that Zabuza-guy why didn't you try and stop them?"

"Oh?" Kakashi evaded expertly, switching to another page of his series, "I was under the impression that was your job, Mister Hero of Justice."

Trunks cringed. That lightened the mood instantly, smiles emerging on the faces of Kakashi's young charges. Even Sasuke cracked a small smirk at his sensei's snark, "Man, that's the last time I fuse with Goten!" Trunks assured, dragging his palms over his face and lurching his head up, feeling terribly embarrassed, "I hate saying lame stuff!"

"What's the big deal?" Naruto insisted perkily, propping his arms happily over his head, "I thought it was pretty cool."

"You would say that, you dork!" Trunks retorted, getting Naruto to stick his tongue out at him before he bumped knuckles with Goten with cheesy grins etched on their faces in a warm-hearted show of solidarity, earning a soft smile from the pink-haired kunoichi, "Yeah, yeah."

Trunks' mood stood zero chance of lasting when the magical word all Saiyans loved more than even getting a good fight regardless of their personality echoed throughout the room. They could be the most passive, non-aggressive Saiyan alive like Goten's brother and they would still love of what was heading toward the dinner table by way of trays.

"Dinner time!" The cheery, warm voice of Tazuna's daughter rang out followed by the two entering the room carrying two full trays of delicious nutriments.

As predicted, Trunks' mood dissipated instantly by the mere smell of tasty food, eyes luminescing like the sun itself and drool beginning to trail from his lip, mimicked by Goten's own outlandish expression of overzealous happy delight, "Food!" The demi Saiyans exclaimed simultaneously, shooting up to their feet. Across from them, Sasuke and Sakura were eyeing the two strangely, wondering if the two had ever seen a real meal in their lives from their vast overreaction.

"Yeah!" Naruto joined in, absolutely ignorant of the elevated levels of obsessed the two had for food, just wanting to bond with his new buddy in orange as he pumped a fist, "Food!"

A beautiful woman with long, flowing midnight blue hair reaching her back appeared over the boys, placing a tray with two large bowls of tasty white rice and a smaller one containing a lengthy loaf of bread, smiling down at the excessively delighted expressions of the two saviours of her father, "Hungry, boys?" She giggled at their frantic nods.

"Uh-huh!" Goten answered peppily, eyes homing in on the other tray landing by the one Tsunami placed by Tazuna's calloused hands, containing delicious numerous fish the size of chicken nuggets and a small bowl of sauce, "Yay!"

Tazuna chuckled warmly, "Eat to your hearts contents, boys," He allowed, blissfully unaware of the horror he was giving the green light to, ignorantly passing a normal-sized bowl over to his daughter before picking one up himself, the two serving the boys a helping each, "It's the least this old man can do for ya!" They handed them their bowls equipped with a pair of chopsticks, assuming their gleams of opportunity to be quirks of charming adorableness, "Dig in."

"We will!" They chorused.

Tsunami giggled, "They're so adorable."

Tazuna's eyes softened behind his lenses, "Yeah." He looked down to pick up another bowl, "So, who's-." Only for two familiar bowls to swiftly appear in his view, empty of the contents that filled them mere seconds ago save for a few grains of rice and folded up chopsticks indicating that they had even been filled in the first place, "Huh?" He glanced up at the grinning Saiyan boys offering him their bowls.

"Seconds please!"

"What!?" Naruto went bug-eyed, followed by his teammates, "You finished already? How? I didn't even see you take a bite!"

"We eat fast." Trunks shrugged. Goten nodded frantically, pleading orbs never leaving Tazuna's, "Now fill them up, pops! You said we could eat to our hearts content!"

Goten nodded in agreement, giving the two the puppy dog eyed look, "Yeah, you promised," It worked to great effect as Tazuna relented, serving the apparently "growing" boys an extra serving each.

All eyes remained honed on the apparent big eaters this time, eyes widening when they shoved the bowls right up to their mouths, basically covering their faces, and _devoured_ , fingers moving blurs as they consumed every last portion within their bowls within mere seconds, silencing everyone.

"How…?" Sasuke muttered, perhaps for the one hundredth time that day alone contemplating what in the hell were these kids.

The boys, of course, paid no heed to the stupors evoked from their worldly demonstration of eating prowess, once more holding out their now empty bowls with wide grins, "Thirds please!"

"Hold on." Kakashi requested because as entertaining as it might have been to see two boys outmatching him in speed eating the rest of them still needed to eat too. Trunks, however, didn't agree, shooting the masked silver-haired man an annoyed glare.

"What now?!" He asked impatiently.

Kakashi pitied the boy's impatience for food with a condescending smile of the eye, "You're not the only ones who need to eat too, you know?" Goten deflated, ears falling like an adorable puppy when he turned to see Naruto's pleading expression of 'Please don't eat it all, I'm hungry too!'

Trunks conceded to the point, knowing it would've been a pretty jerkish, selfish thing to do for their Saiyan appetites to consume the whole gourmet feast before them, grumpily turning his head away and folding his arms, "Fine! You win!" Didn't mean he was happy about it, though.

Let it be known one should never come between a Saiyan and HIS food without expecting to lose an arm in the process.

Kakashi sighed, expression dropping to a dull, sweat ridden face of a sudden aged demeanour as though he had been dealing with them for years already, 'Those two are going to be a bigger handful than Naruto,' And that said something, because Naruto was a handful all on his own, 'I can already see it.'

"You boys really eat a lot," Tsunami noted. Pitying Trunks' pout displaying his early age and immaturity, she began serving a bowl for one of the Konoha members.

Tazuna grinned bashfully to the pouting boy, once again helping his daughter serve their other guests, "They're growing boys honey!"

"Uh-huh…" Goten whimpered miserably, mumbling through the chopsticks propped in his mouth with his chin flattened atop the table. When he felt a delicate hand land on his wild, spiky hair, he perked up, looking up with his eyes to find the comforting emerald eyed look of Sakura.

"Don't worry, Goten. I'll share some of mine with you if you want." No sooner than the word "share" implying give left her mouth were her soft hands cupped by the energetic boy, starry-eyed glow embellishing his happy expression.

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Uh…" Sakura said unsurely, an awkward bead of sweat racing down her cheek, "Sure."

"Yay!" He beamed, and suddenly, to movements invisible to everyone but Trunks, appeared beside the girl embracing her in joy, "You're so nice, Miss Sakura!"

"Uh… thanks," She accepted, patting the overjoyed boy on the arm, "You don't have to be so formal, though, Goten. We're about the same age."

"Heh-heh."

"Hey," Naruto noticed, stopping Goten's innocent caressing of his crush, a finger pointed to the two's blank expressions, "How come he gets to hug you and I can smacked upside the head whenever I even try to so much as touch you?"

"Because he's not annoying like you, idiot!"

"Aw…"

Kakashi chuckled, a natural, instinctive, unrestricted titter from the heart. Despite the relatively secretive nature of the mysterious powerhouse boys, he was finding the task of remaining on guard too much of a chore to do. Their childishness had a natural charming charisma about it that kept him relaxed, 'I'm almost starting to believe they won't be so bad,' He mused, looking up when a bowl of food was placed in front of him.

"Bon appetit." Tsunami smiled playfully.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Why, thank you Tsunami." He embraced his dish with all the advanced delicate skill of a knitter and rose, bringing it over to his masked mouth while making no indication he was going to make room in the veil to eat.

"Wait. How are you going to eat with a mask on?" Trunks questioned, raising an eyebrow, instantly capturing the attention of Kakashi's students. They realized, just then, with that simple acknowledgement of Kakashi's predicament that they had never actually seen what he really looked like beneath his signature mask. Their minds, especially Naruto's, were flooded with all sorts of wacky ideas pertaining to their sensei's face, and their eyes sharpened, peering over to him with intense focus.

'We can find out what Kakashi-sensei looks like without a mask!" Naruto realized, heart rate steadily increasing to the point he could hear it drum against his chest in his ears, and his breathing deepened, 'C'mon, c'mon! Face reveal already!'

"Oh?" Kakashi wondered, once more feigning perfect ignorance like he didn't know what the boy was going on about, "That? Well, let's just say you two aren't the only ones who have mastered the intricate art of speed eating." His hand blurred for all of seemingly a second to his students, and then he was finished, lightly seating his bowl down to clap his hands together in a short pray, "Ah! Tasty."

The expressions of utter gobsmacked defeat of his students were priceless.

"What?" Naruto said, voicing his disappointment aloud.

Sasuke clicked his teeth, "He duped us."

"Ah!" Sakura moaned loudly, "We didn't even see a thing!"

"Tch. We didn't," The raven haired Uchiha acknowledged bitterly, gesturing over to the amazed duo on either side of a saddened blond, "But _they_ did." Sakura and Naruto blinked, eyes dilating wide at the slack-jawed expressions of sheer amazement evident on the faces of the young bottomless pit eaters.

"No way!" Naruto realized, "They're totally taken aback! That means we missed something totally awesome!"

"Idiot! Don't remind me!" Sasuke demanded harshly.

"Wow," Goten uttered, practically starry-eyed at an owlish blinking Kakashi, "You're handsome, Mr Kakashi."

Kakashi eye smiled, "Why, thank you Goten."

"You're all going to die." A young monotone voice attempted to dampen the jovial mood set by the Saiyan boys, drawing their attention to the exit of the living room area they sat in to find a small child decked out in green dungarees over a short sleeved white t shirt complementing his white shoes and white fisherman hat sat upon his mane of shaggy, chocolate-brown coloured hair.

"Inari!" Tsunami chirped, trying to lighten the distinctly moody little boy's spirits, "Why don't you come and join us? We have some lovely guests."

"What's the point?" Inari asked miserably, and for some unknown reason the whiskered-cheeked Genin was still trying to crack his woeful, emo-like attitude grated irritably on his nerves, "They're all going to die, Mom!"

"What!?" Naruto demanded, vocally microphoning Trunks' ire as well.

"Relax!" Goten, however, remained unfazed by the boy's underestimation of their strength, folding his arms behind his head, "Me and Trunks are super-duper strong!" He grinned infectiously, "We'll be fine!" Although Goten's kind words of humble assurance were free of mockery, sarcasm and even arrogance, Inari wasn't taken in by his charisma, instead seeing it more of a cheap salesman-like pitch to lead him into a false sense of security.

"Be serious!" He demanded, earning himself a curious blink of the eyes from the young demi Saiyan.

Naruto glared dangerously at the boy, evoking a flinch from him under the intensity of his icy-blue cold stare. Curiously, Naruto peered over to his fellow prepubescent teen in brash, pleased to find a similarly heated glower plated on his own face, "Hey, Trunks. This kid's really starting to tick me off."

"You and me both," He agreed, darkened glare making Inari squirm nervously under its repression. Although the boys shared the same outlet of their current fury, the reasons for each initiation varied. For Naruto, he had spent much of his early adolescence and even current days enduring adversity, so instinctively, he developed a deep seeded hatred for soakers; the kind of people who expected anyone to pity their "woe was me" act. As far as he was concerned, everyone had their own baggage of problems they were burdened with. It wasn't right for them to bawl their eyes out trying to bring people down to their level of emo-misery.

For Trunks, much like how he had inherited his Father's natural superhuman strength, speed, enhanced hearing and smell, and heightened healing, he also inherited Vegeta's immense pride. For someone to tell him he was going to die without even knowing him and what he could do first… well, it _triggered_ him to no end.

"Listen kid, I don't know who has your panties in a bunch," Trunks quipped, fisting a hip and eliciting a heated flinch from Inari. A snort erupted from his nose, "And really, I don't care. Goten and I aren't gonna die to some lameos so just drop it!"

"Yeah!" Naruto was quick to agree, "And neither are me and my team! We'll protect the old man no sweat, so you better believe it!"

Inari's eyes widened in sudden recognition. It seemed the small child had completely overlooked why the presence of superhuman hired ninjas would even be around his grandfather, considering the slayer of men he was preaching would kill them was also after his grandfather. He turned his head, looking pleadingly into Tazuna's softening eyes of comfort.

"It's true, Inari," He insisted, gesturing to Trunks and Goten. "These two," He began, shaking his head, "They're not like us. They're something else. They have abilities, strength and speed that far exceed that of normal folks, like us," He dipped his head, chuckling a little sheepishly before raising his head, smiling gratefully at his saviours with glistening eyes of unshed tears. "If it weren't for them I wouldn't be here. I owe them my life, Inari."

Inari looked floored, all for intents and purposes, like the wind was taken out of his sails, extended dilated eyes of wavering doubt. He breathed deeply, body wobbling shakily back a step like a drunkard, drawing a roll of the eyes from Sasuke at the dramatics, "How…?" He asked, tear-streaked voice barely above a whisper, tiny hands balling into fists, upper shoulders trembling in his grief, "…How can that-?" Only Sakura and Goten looked at him in sympathy, feeding into his hands as their hearts bled out for him.

The decided "bad boy" trio of Trunks, Naruto, and Sasuke couldn't care less. Trunks, because he was raised – or influenced - by a hardass manly-man of a father he greatly respected. He would've done _anything_ to earn Vegeta's affection like that last and only hug he gave him before his demise, including never showing weakness in such a contemptible manner. For Naruto and Sasuke, well, they've endured so much already even at Inari's age.

If they could move forward without complaint, then so could he.

"To heck with it!" Trunks insisted, throwing his head back in frustration, drawing another timid flinch from the boy. His eyes held intent as he looked over to Tazuna, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at Inari, "Pops, who has him like that?"

Tazuna could tell the boy wasn't just willing to wait for their tormentor to roll up on their doorstep and spring to action at the very last second from the mere look in his eyes. He held the look of someone willing to be proactive and make miracles happen rather than miracles happening themselves. Considering the superhuman strength he and his friend had shown already, it was with great curiosity, anticipation and eagerness that he told him of the man who had been terrorizing his country for years.

"It's Gato," The mere name of the cruel man was enough to cause Inari to cringe, "He's the evil businessman who's had my country under his thumb for years," He bowed suddenly, head touching the surface of the table, teeth a grit and eyes clenched, "Please, young man! If you can rid us of that monster I implore you," He looked up, surprising everyone with the tears in his eyes, "Save us!"

"Father," Tsunami breathed, hands over her heart.

"So he's a bad guy?" Trunks asked rhetorically, getting a nod from Tazuna regardless. He smirked, swiping the bridge of his nose with his thumb, "Cool! That settles it then!" He slid from his chair, hands shoved in his pockets as he rounded to the exit in a confident swagger that would've made Vegeta proud.

Kakashi peered over his little orange book, "What are you planning to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Trunks returned, and then, a blazing azure shroud of intense flames erupted around him, leaving everyone but Goten breathless. Clothes rustling, hair swaying, in the fabricated winds of his immense power, Trunks coolly turned his head over his shoulder, looking very much like the merged warrior team seven had met first. It was clear his personality was most predominant when he and Goten were fused.

"Amazing…" Tsunami breathed, countenance lit by the luminescence of Trunks' aura.

"I'm going to kick this Gato-guy's butt."

Kakashi stared at him flatly, "As all well and good as that is, do you even have a plan of locating him?"

"Not a clue!" Trunks admitted, almost causing everyone to face-fault, "But I'm sure that Zabuza-guy does. This seems too coincidental for them to have no connection."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto nodded, crossing his arms, "That Zabuza-jerk was hired by Gato to kill Tazuna."

"Well that's that!" Trunks' smirk widened, "I'll track down Zabuza, rough him up, and get him to spill the beans on Gato," He faced the doorway, sauntering forward in absolute insouciance that conveyed a clear message to anyone who didn't know of his power.

No one could beat him.

Inari looked up, hardly believing his eyes reflecting the brilliance of the light being emitted by the scary boy before him. He realized he may have been every wrong in his assumption that he would just die when encountering Gato. The divine light he emitted gave him a heavenly feel that just made him look like a god, "Are you-?" He stopped, voice small but full of awe, "A superhero?"

Trunks cringed but quickly shook it off to grab Inari's arm, "Nah. Just a guy who hates being underestimated, now come on! You're coming with me. I'm gonna show ya this Gato-guy isn't crap."

"Wait… I don't-." His protests were futile as the taller, stronger boy pulled him out of the living room, the door sliding open and shut signalling their departure.

A silence lingered over the area.

"Huh?" Sakura let out blankly, pointing to the exit, "Shouldn't you have stopped them Sensei?"

"Probably," Kakashi compromised, unreasonably relaxed as he fingered a page of his favourite orange book, "But he's about to finish the mission for us, which means less work for me ensuring all of you survive so I can't complain."

Sakura pouted at Kakashi's innate laziness, "Gee. Way to set your priorities, Sensei."

"Oh, I sure hope Inari comes back safely," Tsunami stated, hands clasped over her heart.

Goten waved off her concern, "Aw, he'll be A-okay, Miss Tsunami. He has Trunks with him!~ He's a hundred times stronger than anyone around here." He was blissfully ignorant to the looks of either awe, disbelief or suspicion he was getting from Naruto, Sakura, Tsunami, Tazuna, Sasuke and Kakashi respectively, instead holding out his empty bowl having finished Sakura's half a while ago, bright, cheery polite smile stretching across his lips, "Thirds please!"

XxX

New Kids on the Block

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 **TWO**

The Bridge of Eternal Pride

Half an hour.

Approximately thirty minutes would pass before a strangely greasy, but content Trunks would saunter back into the house with a bona-fide transformed in character Inari saddled on his shoulders, the boy having undergone a complete metamorphosis of a character, from the snivelling, depressed child he was last seen to his mother's eyes, to a bright-eyed bundle of jovial exuberance, from the time span of a mere thirty minutes.

"Yo!" The demi Saiyan called, catching everyone's attention.

"Yay, Trunks is back!" Goten cheered, leaning an arm over the back of his chair, smiling widely at his smirking best buddy and the practically beaming boy of pure happiness seated on his shoulders.

"Inari!" Motherly instincts taking over, Tsunami shot up with all the speed and grace of a trained ninja, racing over to her son so frantically Kakashi's students were left bug-eyed in the wake of her speedy departure. She halted mere inches from her son's makeshift rider, however, the vast change in expression on his face keeping her from sweeping him up into her arms, 'Inari…' She mouthed.

She had been fretting ceaselessly since allowing the warrior-child to take her son on what was essentially a liberation mission to rid their country of a malevolent businessman despite Goten's numerous assurances that his friend was the strongest person in the country. It just sounded so idealistically, the thought of a pubescent young boy being that strong, but seeing her son's now brightly expressive eyes of brimming vibrancy, she now realized Goten wasn't being entirely optimistic with his claims of Trunks' status of the country's strongest warrior.

He had to have been that strong to restore the light in her son's eyes, the eyes of someone who had just won a lifetime supply of ryo.

"You should've seen him, Mom!" Inari smiled, eyes glowing so brightly Tsunami feared she would need to look away, "Trunks was awesome! Gato didn't stand a chance!" He mimicked Trunks' blows, playfully shadow boxing the air, "He knocked out his goon with one punch! Then blocked another's sword with his arm!" He threw his arms up, giggling mischievously to his mother's befuddled expression, "It was amazing!"

Tsunami balked, taking a tiny step back as if strung. She opened her mouth, steadily lifting a finger to reply, but then closed it. She looked from her son's brimming smile of vibrant energy to Trunks' self-satisfied closed-eyed expression of contentment. Inari had clearly stroked his ego well.

"Is this true?" She asked softly.

"Sure is," Trunks clarified, "No sweat really. Would've been back sooner, but we made a pit stop so I could grab a bite to eat."

The 'grab a bite to eat' part Inari spurred into recalling another one of Trunks' insane feats of superhuman achievements, "Oh, then Trunks beat up a bear!"

Needlessly to say, that bizarre declaration earned Trunks several funny, odd looks from most other than Goten and Kakashi, though the latter was eyeing him in incredulity, "You fought a bear?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"Why?" Based on the manner of which Inari phrased Trunks' pounding of a bear, implying it was after he had already dealt with Gato and his wannabe goons, there was no conceivable reason to hunt down bears since Gato was already out of the picture.

Trunks' answer was simple in stark contrast to Sasuke's intricate thought process, but yet still absolutely shocking all the same.

"I was hungry."

"Wait!" Sasuke asserted, "You _ate_ a bear!?"

"Yeah!" Goten cheered, pumping an fist in the air, supporting Trunks' decision to eat bears, "Bears are yummy."

"Unbelievable." Sasuke sunk in his seat in submission, 'They're total freaks.'

"How do you two get fed?" Sakura asked rhetorically.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, thoughtfully staring off to the ceiling with his arms crossed, "If you lived with me I don't think I would have enough to feed myself, heh-heh-heh!" He chuckled, lips breaking off into a foxy grin.

"Well my family's rich, so?" Trunks shrugged.

"And I just eat bears!" Goten chirped, drawing awkward smiles.

"So then," Tazuna stood, fumbling for words, drawing the lavender-haired demi Saiyan's attention. Trunks could tell he was still reeling from the unexpected liberation from his country's tyrant's evil mitts, palms shaking, mouth agape and eyes wide, filled with incredulous disbelief, "Gato, he's really gone? You really rid us of that vile man?"

"That's what he said, didn't he?" Trunks shot back impatiently, pointing to Inari, "Sheesh, didn't you hear him go on, Pops? Yes, the bad guy's no more. I chased him out of town."

The clarification was all the old bridge builder needed for his heart to allow the wave of raw emotion to wash through. Abruptly, his trembling eyes settled, lowered, softened, and filled with glistening tears, "Yeah kid," He sniffed, quickly tilting up his glasses to stubbornly stub at his eyes, earning soft smiles from Naruto, Sakura and Goten as he flashed Trunks a wide, euphoric smile, coupled with closed eyes to hide his red-rimmed eyes, "Yeah I did."

A pair of slender, delicate arms emotionally draped themselves around a shell-shocked Trunks' neck, a larger, yet much softer and fragile body being pressed up against his chest. He gasped breathlessly, unintentionally smelling the strangely relaxing fragrance of perfume as strands of midnight blue locks tickled the side of his widened-eyed face, "W-What?"

"Thank you," She said, a heartfelt murmur into his ear, arms tightly around his muscled frame, chin resting atop his shoulder, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

For a few moments, the shock of a mother embracing him a second time but so passionately lightly knocked Trunks into an all mesmerizing glowing cloud-white realm of daydream, an equally slender, curvy woman but with lighter and shorter blue hair hugging him in place of the woman who was on the outside world, 'Mom…' He mouthed silently. Subtly, as to not disturb Tsunami, he clenched his little fist, lowering his head so his chin was touching dream-Bulma's shoulder, the bangs of his light lavender hair shadowing his solemn eyes, 'I'll find a way home, soon, Mom,' His fist tightened, 'I swear.'

Tsunami pushed a little away from her country's saviour, holding him within arm's reach, her teary-eyed smile softening comfortingly to his guarded look of resolve, "It's okay to smile, you know?" She insisted, smile lightening cheerily, "You're a hero!"

"Yeah man!" Naruto said, loud voice carrying over to him containing a twinge of annoyance, eyes squinted as he crossed his arms, "Quit being such a soaker!"

"It's not that, it's just," Trunks balked, shoulders tightening and teeth gritting in self-loath of being unable to put into words in regard to his lack of desire to bask in his heroics, drawing looks of concern from Sakura and Tsunami, the latter straightening from her crouched posture taken to hug him.

Inari, now a bundle of absolute cuteness being free of his burden of seemingly perpetual sadness, tilted his head upside down to look into his saviour's eyes curiously, "What is it bro?"

Trunks sighed, lifting the younger boy from his shoulders, placing him on his feet, holding his questioning look with a stern gaze, "Listen Inari, you really ticked me off earlier."

Inari winced, ducking his head, ashamed, "I'm sorry. I just-." Now tension tightened in his own shoulders, little hands curling into reluctant fists of self-frustration.

"I know, but still!" Trunks was much the same, unable to express himself.

Fortunately, for the two struggling youngsters, they had an available expert psychologist-like Jounin who happened to specialize in reading people and the barriers they instinctively build in front of their emotions in Kakashi, "Trunks is a prideful fellow, Inari," He explained, drawing his attention, "Your intentions to warn us away, well-meaning I'm sure, was actually taken as a huge insult to his pride as a warrior, so he set out to prove you wrong," He shrugged, continuing his breakdown of Trunks' psyche insouciantly, "Now that you're hailing him as a hero he feels guilty knowing his motivations were inherently selfish."

"Woooow," Goten drawled, eyes shining in awe, "You're smart, Mr Kakashi."

Kakashi eye smiled. He was loving this boy. He fed his own controllable ego well, making him feel good about himself which was always nice. Not to mention his conversations with Naruto kept the blond in line. Bonus points, "Why, thank you, Goten."

Inari looked back at Trunks as the latter stared at him grimly, "Is that it?"

"Yeah." Trunks murmured, "So you don't need to thank me or anything!" He insisted strongly, trying to ignore the contemplative expression on the young boy's face as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "I was just blowing off steam." A grin, confident and assure in nature, tugged at the edges of Inari's lips. No, that wasn't any ordinary smile of confidence, Trunks realized, having had the same smug smile plastered on his face plenty of times.

It was a smirk. A self-satisfied hardened grin Inari bared in full, fully confident in his belief that he perfectly understood Trunks' clear reluctance for sentimentalities, "You got it, big bro!" He teased, drawing the desired reaction from his self-proclaimed older brother, an awkward cringe.

"Numbskull! I told ya you didn't have to be mushy!"

Inari snickered.

Oh yeah. He definitely understood Trunks' reluctance for touchy feelings.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto bellowed with laughter, receiving the full blunt of Trunks' dangerous glare but paying it no mind as he jabbed an ridiculing index finger at him, "You're so lame when it comes to feelings, Trunks!"

"Shut it, dork! Unless you want me to kick your butt!"

"Bring it!"

While the two dissolved into a tangle of arms of a playful grappling match, being goaded and cheered on by Inari and Goten, the others dryly shook their heads, though smiled warmly at the display of brotherly-like manly affection. Well, all except Sasuke who was just too anti-social and distant from his emotions to really see the joys in the simple things like a playful scrape between friends. With a scoff, he looked away, hoping they would end soon.

Kakashi didn't notice his most talented Genin's discomfort, however, too engrossed in both his book and the mock grappling match put on by his other charge and Trunks, chuckling kindly, 'Those two,' One eye shifted to Goten cheerleading Naruto, because Inari was on Trunks' side, then over to Trunks, who had Naruto firmly held in a tight headlock.

"Say Uncle, Naruto! I don't wanna hurt you."

"No, never-. GAH!"

'Won't be so bad to have around.'

Better than Konoha getting them than some other village outside the Land of Fire because any Hidden Village landing two potentially Kage-level warriors equalled a massive boost in power for them.

XxX

Later that day, when the sun had drifted around the clock to another far away region of the land to be replaced by an eerie crimson Sharingan-coloured moon, Trunks stepped out. It wasn't like he could sleep anyway. Being lost in an entirely other world with different sets of rules and regulations played endlessly on his mind, keeping him alive. And he still needed to set things straight with Kakashi with his earlier outburst. Really, he had all the incentive in the world to remain restless. He wasn't so carefree like Goten that he could just drop asleep with so much on his mind.

Luckily for him, the Jounin was also awake, perched outside on the dock insouciantly kicking a leg lightly out while keeping the other folded over his knee.

"Yo," Trunks greeted.

Kakashi didn't look up from his book. It wasn't like Trunks was suppressing his Ki from the man, but still kudos to him for sensing his approach, "Yo yourself," He turned a page, "Need something? Or are you just out for a midnight stroll?"

"Huh?" Trunks cocked an eyebrow, "Thought you'd still be harping on that."

This time Kakashi did look up, gracing him with a puzzled expression, "Harping on what?"

Trunks deadpanned.

Kakashi just stared dully back at him, never wavering in his charade.

A cool, strand of air passed by, souring Trunks' expression further.

"I hate you, you know that?" Trunks glared.

Kakashi eye smiled, returning to his book, "I know."

"Seriously, though."

"Yeah," Kakashi accepted, deciding to stop the purposeful misleading of trolling, "I had a feeling you would be out here expecting to find me to hash out that 'talk' you promised we'd have," He flashed an encouraging thumbs-up by way of green light approval, "So shoot."

"Alright," Although Trunks implied he was ready to come clean in regards to his whereabouts, his intense, deep pensive expression spoke the contrary, muscular arms wrapped over his chest, "Man, how can I sum this up in a way that doesn't make me sound crazy?"

Kakashi decided to throw the kid a bone, "Like you came from another world?"

That caught him off guard, his arms dropping and eyes shooting the older man a startled look before narrowing suspiciously, "You knew?"

"I had a theory," Kakashi returned, eliciting a roll of the eyes from Trunks at the casual, cool ease of which he evaded being grilled, "Right before our encounter with Zabuza, there was a tear in the sky. Almost like the fabric of reality was tearing itself apart at the scenes," He lowered his book, single eye homing in on Trunks solemnly, "Just what were you two doing that could've potentially scarred the fabric of reality?"

"We were fighting a monster."

"Tell me."

And so, he did. There was no reason not too given that Kakashi could've been of assistance in helping them find their way, ideally back home but realistically to set up somewhere safe where they could get by. This was a strange, new, unfamiliar world to them, even inhabited by ninjas they could beat in their sleep. He had no desire of being left out there in the cold where the possibility of getting a bed was within arm's reach. They just had to act and reach out while praying they didn't get bitten for it.

After he finished a story of what Kakashi could only describe was an epic horror novel of deities and devils taken humanoid forms, the Jounin was understandably in disbelief. The whole ordeal with Majin Buu unfortunately wasn't grounded in reality where essentially normal humans with minor abilities would believe at face value. It also just made for an absolutely terrifying horror film, as Kakashi could verify. His lone eye had been left spooked numerous times throughout Trunks' tale, almost trembling in trepidation when he spoke of the bubble-gum skinned monstrosity that possessed a horrifyingly unavoidable beam move that turned anyone it touches into candy to be eaten.

"That is," He paused to articulate himself, insouciance now used to masquerade his incredulity instead of to troll his associates, "How can I put this?" He held his chin, tilting his head up, "It's 'hard to swallow'."

Trunks snorted at being quoted, "Tell me about it."

Kakashi gave him a sidelong look, eye solemn, "Did this Majin Buu creature happen to follow you?"

"Can't sense him, so no," Trunks offered a shrug, "After the jerk destroyed the Time chamber, we all fell through our own separate voids, and then Goten and I ended up here, as Gotenks."

"Well that's relief."

"Tell me about it. Goten and I have to fuse to even stand a chance against the thing, but the problem with that is-."

"You became too arrogant when merged, correct?" Kakashi predicted, earning a nod from the boy, "Well," He breathed, caressing the side of his neck, "I believe the best course of action now would be is to join my team and I when we return home after Tazuna finishes the bridge," He looked at him sidelong, catching the hopeful gaze in his eyes, "Our Third Hokage is a benevolent man. If we explain your circumstances, I'm sure he'll allow your stay in the village."

"Thank heck for that!" Kakashi chuckled at the Saiyan's exclamation of relief, "Was gonna ask ya if we could tag along anyway."

"I'm sure," Kakashi assured in his typical know-it-all manner, "To tell you the truth, I was going to extend the invitation almost regardless if you had told me your story or not."

This got Trunks' attention, "Really?"

"Really," Kakashi quipped, turning a page of his book, "I won't lie to you Trunks. Your power's most likely greater than mine if you were able to frighten Zabuza away as easily as you relayed," He turned to him, holding his gaze grimly, "And if the specifics of the Fusion Jutsu are to be believed Goten shouldn't be far off from your power either," He glanced up, eyeing the moon as the tension in the air thickened, "That kind of power at the fingertips of another village would put Konoha at a severe disadvantage. I just couldn't in good conscious allow that to come to pass."

"Well I'm glad you didn't," Trunks assured, hastily rounding before he got too sentimental. You know, because he inherited his father's macho tendency to dislike touchy feelings, "You guys are pretty cool."

Kakashi humoured his tryhard attempt to remain all tough while slightly touching on his softer side with an eye smile, "Why thank you, Trunks. We think you kids are pretty cool too."

Trunks nodded, tossing a hand over his shoulder, "Off to get some shuteye. Thanks for the talk," He didn't turn to see Kakashi's nod, instead sauntering forward and stopping by the entrance of Tazuna's family home. He grabbed the doorknob, grip tightening as the shadows of the night masqueraded his pensive expression of expertly concealed worry, "Hey, Kakashi."

"Yeah."

"This place is pretty nuts, huh?"

The silence reigning supreme was the only answer he needed, eyes steeling with resolve.

"G'night." Once he disappeared Kakashi returned to his book.

"Like you wouldn't even believe, kid."

xXx

xXx

(One Week Later)

XXx

No more than a week was needed for Tazuna to complete his bridge of dreams, officially signalling his country's liberation from the cruelty of subjugation and poverty. It took a couple of days after Gato's forced eviction for the other citizens of Tazuna's small village to truly believe he was gone for good, but after his main factory was raided for his abandoned goods their cheers could've been heard across the globe as they partied like the village that just never slept, praising Trunks as their lord and saviour, thoroughly embarrassing the boy which Naruto used as ammunition for teasing, which only resulted in headlocks each time.

Thankfully Kakashi came to his rescue, setting his team the task of learning to walk up trees, and Goten and Trunks busied themselves in helping Tazuna finish off his dream bridge. They were the main reason he even got the marvellous countries-connecting structure built in such a short time span, which sadly shortened the remaining duration Inari had with his self-proclaimed older brother Trunks.

He had taken a great, bright shine to the demi Saiyan, so watching him standing by the bridge with his practically groped orange-clad buddy and the Konoha ninja was enough to arouse tears in his eyes, though he did his best to try and hold them in, his mother's comforting hand nestling on his head.

"So I guess this is it?" Tazuna asked longingly, feeling as though he knew them for years watching them about to depart to new adventures beyond, Naruto's arm happily draped over Goten's shoulder.

"Afraid so," Kakashi answered, smiling regretfully, "We have to get back and report to Lord Hokage."

Tazuna winced, "Sorry for lying about the mission specifics Sensei."

"It's alright," Kakashi comforted. Tazuna loved him. Seriously, if Kakashi were to return to the Land of Waves and purpose to his daughter, he would receive Tazuna's blessings wholeheartedly without restraint. He was such a kind understanding man with an amusing sarcastic personality that never failed to arouse a smile from him, "We actually learned a lot and gained critical combat experience you can't achieve running stimulations." So kind, trying to reassure Tazuna he didn't need to feel guilty about essentially tricking Konoha into believing he only needed minor protection, "Also," His eye slid side to side to Trunks and Goten, "We gained invaluable comrades."

"Yeah!" Naruto beamed, passionately hugging a sheepishly smiling Goten. He had essentially spazzed out in overzealous joy when Kakashi informed them Trunks, and more importantly, Goten, would be returning with them to Konoha to potentially join their ranks, clinging to the boy whenever he so much as got the chance to. It was actually kind of annoying if anyone asked Trunks, who started contemplating whether the Super Saiyan look alike had ever even had a real friend before, and then it hit him.

He most likely never had a real friend to bond with before. That was arguably why he was so attached to Goten who shared much of the same qualities as him with the two being dopey, happy-go-lucky bubbleheads of endless positivity. It was only natural for a lonely, friends-deprived guy to become drunk off friendship when the hand was finally offered, but then why was Naruto so lonely?

He could be annoying for sure, but he had his good points.

Trunks resolved himself with asking Kakashi about Naruto's explicit lack of social skills when they got to Konoha.

"Yeah." Tazuna agreed, locking eyes with their saviour, "Thank you again young man."

"No sweat Pops, remember?" Trunks returned, hinting to their week's earlier conversation of Trunk's innately self-centred incentives for freeing them from Gato's control, born solely of that selfish desire to prove a smack talking kid wrong.

Tazuna's eyes softened, sympathizing with his reluctance, "I know, but even still, you saved us, even if your motivations weren't distinctly pure, you still did," That was what mattered to Tazuna and his family most. It didn't matter if he didn't plan to rescue them heroically, like a true hero, he still was one. They understood bona-fide legitimate heroes of unsullied purity were few and far between, because people at their very core of their beings were just inherently selfish creatures. That was why pure-hearted sweet hearts like Goten and Naruto were as rare as diamonds themselves.

"I got ya, Pops."

He smiled, grin as wide as the bridge itself, "Don't be a stranger now! You're welcome back anytime!"

"I'll take it under consideration." The lavender-haired anti-hero assured coolly.

"You better come visit!" Inari mock threatened, voice tear-streaked with droplets of tears sprinkling from his eyes.

Trunks smirked, "I'll take it under consideration."

"Jerk." Inari sniffed.

"You're not gonna start crying, are ya?" Trunks teased, fisting his hips, "You're such a girl pants."

"No!" Inari denied, breaking voice saying otherwise. He offered the boy he had come to view as a sort of older brother figure a tear-streaked smirk, "You can cry, though." Trunks allowed his actions to speak for him, coolly turning his back on the boy and beginning his stroll from the country via the great link in between, tossing a hand over his shoulder in bidding.

"Smell ya later."

"Bun bye big bro!" He frantically waved him off, arms hoisted above his head as he completed several heartfelt half-moon gestures of the arms to give his reluctant hero the send-off he felt he was due, the rest of the team receiving the same grand gesture by way of extension when they gave their own farewells and sauntered off to catch up with Trunks.

Tazuna watched them go, eyes lingering on Trunks, "There goes a reluctant hero." That said, the realization of his close friend's departure from his home broke the dam keeping Inari's tears at bay, streaks of them rapidly pouring from his eyes and snot emerging from his nostrils.

Tsunami bent down to his level, removing a handkerchief from her person over to her son's nostrils before giving him an encouraging pat on the back, "Are you going to miss your big brother, sweetie?" She asked, smiling kindly. Inari inhaled deeply, blowing mightily into the folded handkerchief on his nose, releasing all the slimy mucus clogging up his nostrils.

"Uh-huh!"

She giggled until a thought occurred to her, "Oh! That's right. You haven't named the bridge yet Father."

Tazuna lingered on the decision for all of a few moments before the perfect name in honour of Trunks and the pride he held hit him like a flash of inspired lightning. It was his hope and belief that the name he would bestow upon the bridge would inspire others to fight to maintain their dignity even when the odds were stacked against them, and to remind their saviour acting on selfish whims really wasn't such a bad thing when it resulted in good deeds.

"I'll call it the Bridge of Eternal Pride."

* * *

 **That's it people. We are out of the Wave arc, and it only took two chapters. I really hope this wasn't rushed, or at least didn't feel too rushed, I just wanted to power through an arc that has been, admittedly, worn the fuck out in the cleanest most believable way manageable. I hope Trunks' talk with Kakashi didn't feel too cringey. I know when characters reveal they're from another world in other fics it usually feels pretty cringe, at least to me since authors just have the crossed over character instantly revealed everything about themselves from the chapter one. I tried to soften the blow and make that scene as plausible as humanly possible. I do try, honest!**

 **No action, but yh. This arc's been played to death so I just wanted to smoothly brush past it. I hope I kept you entertained with Goten and Trunks' interactions with Team 7, though. Until next time take care.**


	3. A Jinchuuriki's Light

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

* * *

And so, the newly assembled squadron of Genin, their sensei and their two-brand new companions were the first ever group of people to travel between countries on the newly built bridge named in honour of the great pride Trunks strongly held at a leisured, reserved pace, both moderate enough to smell the roses of a job well done even if one of them had done a good portion of the work but hasty enough that they wouldn't be walking across the Eternal Pride bridge for seemingly forever.

"Woohoo!" Well, all except Naruto were using their saunter of relaxation to bask in the fruits of their labour, the blond springing ahead of the group performing ridiculous over-the-top cadet-marching strides, one leg stretching wide out ahead of him before immediately repeating the same process with the other one. Rinse and repeat, "I'm so excited! I wonder what I'll show Goten first," Remembering Goten's nigh bottomless appetite, inspiration hit him like a bolt of lightning, "Woo! Maybe I'll show him to Ichiraku Ramen! He'll love Ramen!'

Sasuke sighed silently, features drying at Naruto loudly declaring his plans to bond with Goten as if the other orange-clad boy wasn't within earshot like it was supposed to be a surprised, 'Does he really think he can't hear him?'

The explicit implications of his stomach being fed was all Naruto's apparent tourist needed to hear, holding his arm up high with a closed hand of pumped excitement, "Yeah, food."

Sakura sighed, both at Goten's seemingly one-track mind and Naruto's lack of knowledge of general social communication. She wouldn't dare call Naruto out on his social ineptitude though. She had learned the hard way not to ignorantly blame one's lack of proper etiquette on that child's lack of parents through being harshly roasted by her crush. Having spent much time self-reflecting on Sasuke's lecture, Sakura realized just how inconsiderate she was of Naruto's feelings.

He acted out _because_ he had no one, not even an older brother-figure, to show him better. His circumstances should have been something to feel sympathy for. Here he was now, an overly joyed, mild-mannered youth animatedly contemplating what he was going to show his first actual friend first once he began leading him around Konoha because he _didn't_ know how to interact with him in a proper manner.

It was heart-breaking when Sakura thought about it.

After Naruto's and Trunks' confrontation with a very much formerly stuck-in-the-mud Inari, her respect for him grew. Unlike Inari, he faced hardship with a wide, contagious cheeky grin matching Goten's, never once expecting anyone to pity him because he had no one.

He masqueraded his sadness behind a well-crafted mask of slap-happy exuberance.

It was something to both admire and pity.

"Naruto, cut it out," She tried, wanting to give the blond the prod he needed, "Goten is right here you know?"

While the pink haired Kunoichi's gentle push in the right direction did at least inspire him to turn around and acknowledge the boy he wanted to cement a friendship with – Goten just giving him a carefree wave – his sparkling star-shaped glints of opportunity didn't inspire much in the way of inspiring faith that he would do what Sakura hoped and continue to engage Goten in peaceful conversations like he had done at Tazuna's.

He was okay speaking with the wild-haired Jungle-inhabited boy previously. What changed now? Nerves perhaps.

"Goten!" He raced to his side, "Can you do that thing you did against Zabuza!?"

"What thing?" Goten's head bobbled to one side adorably.

"You know, that thing that made ya _way_ stronger and turned your hair blonde when you and Trunks were that Gotenks-guy!" He relayed, jogging his mind animatedly, consequently provoking a low, indistinct groan from Goten's fusion partner as the lavender-haired demi Saiyan palmed his face, shaking his head at the constant loud tone of Naruto's voice.

'Man, doesn't this kid ever give it a rest?' Trunks wondered, glaring over at Naruto from their place on the right side of the centred Kakashi in their walking formation in annoyance, Sasuke and Sakura on the other, 'Where's the mute button when you need it?'

Goten was much better suited to withstand and handle the waves of near limitless supplies of boundless energy Naruto enthusiastically hauled his way without effort. Not a single feather out of place on him, "Oh! You mean go super," He clarified, patting a small fist on an equally small palm gently in recognition.

Naruto nodded, and nodded, and nodded again, and kept on nodding until after a total of twenty nods he realized he actually had no idea what he was referring to. A sheepish look of uncertainty graced his whiskered face, "Heh-heh," He chuckled, scratching the back of his head, missing the roll of the eyes sent his way by Sasuke and Trunks, "Maybe…?"

Goten nodded with all the patience of an old Granny needing hours to finish knitting a sweater, and, slightly, almost indistinctly to even Kakashi's lone eye, tensed, clothes delicately swaying upward in the artificial winds the production of his Ki generated as a brilliant, fiery circular glow surrounded his feet, quickly growing before anyone – not named Trunks – could even react. It soared, expanding around the boy's body like a bubbly suit of armour, pushing the edges of his porcupine-styled hair skyward into a volcano-like style, raven colour brightening to the gold-like blond Naruto wanted and eyes shifting blue to match.

"Ta-da!"

Naruto's fists rumbled like he was on a vibrating chair, out of pure anticipation from seeing his new friend resembling him in looks before launching his arms skyward, "That's it! That's the thing!" He pointed, beamed, and threw an arm around a bashful Goten's shoulder, chortling away, "Heh-heh-heh! We look like brothers!"

Not for the first time since joining up with the distinctly superhuman wonder kids were Sakura and Sasuke stupefied, jaws hanging loose staring at the embraced Super Saiyan and his near identical clone with wide eyes at the presence of such tangible yet calm power emanating in the air. True, neither were sensory-types. If they were, well, heart attacks could've struck them.

No, this was just feeling the innate presence a person emanated naturally. The more noticeable they were to their subconscious senses the further away person X of the mighty presence was from person Y unconsciously feeling them. Skilled warriors could easily influence their being there with their emotions, such as bloodlust for instance. Sakura and Sasuke had found this out the hard way when they were subjected to the full force of Zabuza's nigh devilish killing intent.

It was so bad Sasuke became incredibly tempted to commit suicide for liberation.

Thankfully, Goten's tremendously powerful existence was nowhere near as horrible as Zabuza's, but it was still a million times more noticeable, resembling a massive ocean of which symbolised the near endless gulf of his power.

Abruptly, they realized just how utterly outclassed they were to the unassuming, gentle boy.

"Amazing…" Sakura whispered breathlessly.

'We're not even close to these guys,' Sasuke noted, trembling eyes of disbelief shifting to Kakashi, 'Not even close.'

The earlier week's conversation the masked Jounin had with Trunks when deciding to take them back to Konoha, particularly the segment where he implied he wasn't sure if they were ultimately more powerful than him, played through his mind, 'Likely more powerful? I must've been out of my mind,' His eye shook. With the lightly immersive yet heavily tangible presence hanging in the air, there was no doubt in his mind either kid would destroy him.

It was an odd sensation he was emanating as well, non-threatening yet powerful all the same. Best description Kakashi could think of for Goten's aura was it was like a snuggly blanket shrouding them in its warmth securely, really fitting of his pure-hearted kind personality.

"Super?" Kakashi pondered, eye drifting off to Trunks, because as inviting as Goten was, anyone remotely resembling Naruto obviously wasn't the best option for exposition.

"He means Super Saiyan." Trunks explained casually.

Naruto blinked, ceasing his cuddling of his new buddy, "Super Saiyan?"

"Would that classify as a bloodline or something similar?" Kakashi asked.

Trunks was an intelligent boy, which was why Kakashi looked to him for details in regard to him and Goten. He could rationalize for himself the bloodlines Kakashi were implying were manifested traits and abilities solely unique to that particular family, and only obtained through being born into that household, bearing the ancestral blood. If there was one thing he inherited from his mother, it was certainly her brain. Knowing the definition of bloodline, it wasn't hard piecing together the context Kakashi used it in considering what he was comparing it to.

"Pretty much." Trunks answered, hands slacked in his pockets. Expression did grimace as he clarified however, "Gotta be a part of our… race to be able to go Super Saiyan." In that sense the Super Saiyan transformation would absolutely classify as a Kekkei Genkei in Elemental Nations terms.

Kakashi didn't miss the oddity in Trunks' clarification, 'Just one mystery after the next.' He sighed silently, closing his eye.

"Hey, Trunks. What's a bloodline?"

Of course, just because Trunks was highly intelligent for his age didn't mean his buddy was too.

XxX

New Kids on the Block

 **C**

 **H**

 **A**

 **P**

 **T**

 **E**

 **R**

 **THREE**

A Jinchuuriki's Light

Thankfully, Sakura's patience could've easily given Goten's a very good run for its money and she was able to educate the boy, teaching him of the definition of the word bloodline and what it meant in the context of peculiar, inherent abilities only achieved through being directly born into that clan, though in the case of Kakashi's Sharingan, you could be gifted a Kekkei Genkai via a transplant. The only drawback of having a transplanted ocular orb of visual prowess was the non-blood descendant not being able to actively turn off his doujutsu like a true descendant of the ocular-wielding clan could.

Hence why Kakashi kept one side of his mask lowered over his eye. It wasn't just for the cool factor, though the boys expected that was partly the reason, but because otherwise an active unconcealed Sharingan would burn through his reserves like paper, leaving him bedridden.

The group continued onward to their destination, with Naruto resuming to offer his frantic guide-like suggestions to Goten, reminding Trunks of his self-pledge to ask Kakashi just why he was so overly happy about getting a friend. Luckily he got his chance when the group set up camp just off from a high way dirt road hours after leaving the Bridge of Eternal Pride.

"Yo," He greeted, sauntering back to camp with a huge fish slung over his shoulder.

"Yo yourself," Kakashi quipped, the warm, sizzling fire beneath him from his perch on a folded down tree Trunks had axed down with a punch luminescing the pages of his book, thankfully.

Trunks frowned, "Seriously, do you ever not do that?"

Kakashi glanced over to him lazily, yeah, same song and dance, "Not do 'what' exactly?"

Trunks rolled his eyes, "Yeah. No," He deadpanned, slouching his way over to another thick tree across from Kakashi, slinging his fish next to the fire before sitting across from the man, expression pensive as he rested his elbows on his knees.

Kakashi chuckled. Messing with the boy was just too much fun, but he could spare him of his antics, "Alright," He said, "You look like you want to talk, otherwise I doubt you would've came back ahead of everyone else," He bestowed him the thumbs up of green light approval, "Shoot."

That wasn't an invitation Trunks was going to pass up, "What's up with Naruto?"

That was… an odd question, considering what Naruto was and what he held inside of him and the ability Trunks possessed to ascertain his greatest secret, Kakashi was justified feeling a tad wary, "Can I ask what you mean exactly?"

Trunks grimaced, "The way he is with Goten." He clarified, a look of realization appearing in Kakashi's eye, "Clinging to him, being weird," His frown became more profound, arms folding over his chest, "It's like he's never had a friend before."

"Well it seems you already cracked that riddle without me needing to tell you," Kakashi verified, making Trunks shoot up his eyebrows in incredulity as a silence engulfed them. Only the small rustle of a page turning could be heard, "Do you recall your confrontation with Inari before you liberated him from his misery?"

"Yeah." Trunks assured, a savage smirk emerging on his face, "How can I forget? Naruto hated the crybaby as much as I did at the time."

"True," Kakashi remarked, calm as the lightly moving flames illustrating their faces, "But that wasn't for the same reason as yours."

Trunks sobered, deeply contemplative expression resurfacing, "Figured as much."

Kakashi nodded, grateful for that much as he began collecting his thoughts on the blond-haired loner. He sighed, reluctantly removing his eye from his book and looking off at the stars in the night sky, "Naruto saw himself in Inari," He said, getting a questioning eyebrow from Trunks, which was fair. He was pretty vague admittedly, "To be precise, he saw a reverse reflection of himself in him," He turned, locking gazes with Trunks, "He's had… a less than stellar life. He lost both of his parents before he could even talk much less walk." He caught Trunks' widening eyed gaze of startling recognition before his eyes lowered in empathy, head failing and arms unfolding to pick at his wrist out of nerves, face grimacing from a longing repressed sadness.

"Man…"

"Have you ever lost a parent?" Kakashi asked, softly, lone eye on the struggling boy comfortingly. For all his power, he was still clearly just that; a boy, and yet, his indistinct shaking posture of suppressed emotions indicated he had already lost someone extremely close to him by extension.

"Yeah." He confirmed, in a hoarse whisper, like his throat was sore. Kakashi didn't need to offer him his condolences, both knowing he likely wouldn't have accepted it anyway but because he could empathize with Trunks' feeling of loss. And so, a few relative moments of understanding silence passed, morbid and solemn.

"But that still doesn't explain why Naruto's so lonely."

"Oh?" Kakashi returned to his usual insouciance, using his typical snark as a way to test Trunks, "I thought you'd have a rough idea already, Mr Sensor."

Trunks dashed his head up, posture leaning back as he clawed through his hair in frustration, eliciting a sigh from the masked Jounin who had hoped his reaction would be more along the lines of him blinking owlishly, totally clueless to his subtle drop of the ball, though knew it was unlikely. The demi Saiyan had already demonstrated _supreme,_ omnipotent-level sensory capabilities to locate Zabuza within mere minutes.

Such a vast, extraordinary range of sensory prowess was unheard of in the ninja land. Even the Yamanaka clan who specialized in all things mental could not single out individuals from the other side of the village, and the fact that Trunks explicitly stated his level of sensing mastery was easy, implying pretty much anyone in his world had that same supreme-level of sensory prowess, was truly scary.

"Darn! I'm an numbskull!" He berated himself, "Of course whatever's inside Naruto might be the thing that makes people avoid him like the plague."

"So I was right," Kakashi acknowledged, a bad feeling settling in his gut. He really had to stop trusting his instincts. He was too experienced for that, "You _can_ sense it."

Trunks frowned deeply, "Sense 'it'? Sense what? What is that thing inside the dork? Getting a lot of bad vibes from it."

"Like it's a monster?" Kakashi hinted, drawing a sobered nod and gaze devoid of fear from the boy, 'Interesting,' He mused, "Well, you're not wrong. What Naruto holds inside him is a giant fox spirit with nine tails and great power."

Trunks' eyebrow shot up, face grimacing in slight incredulity, "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Well then. There was only one thing he could say to that.

"That sucks."

Though he knew such a slang term undermined the gravity of Naruto's situation. He just… couldn't understand what the kid must be enduring to be so lonely due to having a monster inside of him, not entirely. To some degree, he could relate to the kid on the grave topic of "containing" monsters inside them, though in Trunks and Goten's cases all they needed were their tails purged to forever rid themselves of the Oozaru transformation.

Naruto's monster dilemma didn't sound quite so simple.

On top of easily being rid of their baggage neither of them were hated for it. They had their families, they had each other, and even the few acquaintances they made in school, though granted, their school friends never knew of their origins – that was why they were acquaintances, but still, they were never scorned to know what being scorned felt like.

"Truly," Kakashi agreed, eye lingering on the boy in composed regret, "Naruto's been ostracized for something out of his control."

Trunks lowered his head even further, instinctively intertwining his fingers, elbows propped on his knees, and a bead of sweat trailing from his forehead to the brim of his chin, shuddering in place. Even his insatiable appetite hung on by a thread of ruin by that declaration of implied child abuse, stomach churning. He lifted his head, opened his mouth to ask how Naruto being the Nine Tails jailor came to be, but decided against it, lips stretching out in a pained grimace.

Everyone had their secrets, even he and Goten after all. It wasn't right to encroach on those personal secrets anymore than necessary if he wasn't planning on extending the same luxury.

"It all makes sense now," Trunks rose his head, eyes sharpening with assurance, "Why Naruto clings to Goten. I get it! I totally get it!"

"Precisely," Kakashi approved, flashing him a warm eye smile at his empathy of Naruto, "Naruto's been alone most of his life. Beside myself and his Academy instructor who he only bonded with recently, he hasn't made any connections, most noticeably with kids his own age. Now that Goten's waltzed by, someone who's much like him, he clings to him in the hope he can forge a bond his heart desires."

Trunks snorted, "He doesn't have to try that hard. Goten likes pretty much anyone."

"Probably, but then again, Naruto wouldn't know that, would he?"

"I got it! I got it!"

Kakashi chuckled, closed eye forming a "U" by way of a smile, the only way he knew how without exposing his apparently devilishly handsome face. Ears perked, however, to the sudden rustle of the leaves followed by numerous footsteps, "And it looks like we're done with this riveting discussion here."

Trunks nodded, not needing to turn around as the others wondered into view, each holding their own captures, Goten with three big fishes rivalling the size of Trunks', Naruto with one huge one and Sakura and Sasuke with numerous smaller ones within makeshift bags made of rope.

"You sure slacked off fast enough," Sasuke remarked curtly, moving next to the fire to drop his haul by it.

"Yeah, you lazy butt!" Naruto frowned, squinted eyed.

Trunks shrugged, flashing them an apologetic smile, "Sorry. Had to talk to Kakashi about something," He explained, quickly deflecting before anyone could ask him what that "something" was, "Caught one though. Same total as yours, pal."

"He's got you there, Naruto."

"Aw, come on, Sakura."

Everyone laughed before settling down to roast their catch.

XxX

By mid-day of the following day, the overly huge, enormous dimly green gates appeared in view of the group, embedded with the same six-styled leaf insignias plated on the headbands of Kakashi and his students, already pushed off to each side birthing entrance to the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves.' Naturally, the term 'village' should be used loosely in the context of Konoha and not literally, as the only thing really 'village-like' about it were the relatively small structure of its buildings, and even then, they weren't that small.

Much like the name implied, many of Konoha's buildings were shrouded in trees, giving the living environment a healthy cloak, or it would've if Konoha wasn't so damn big, both in width and length. With such a vast myriad of buildings all congested in a gigantic circular platform surrounded by glaringly tall heighted walls Konoha easily resembled a small city.

The centrepiece was without a doubt a large mountain perfectly situated at the end of the City-sized Village of Konoha from the demi Saiyans' point of view, neatly placed where one could overlook the inhabits from atop. Engraved in straight lines in the mountain were four huge stoned faces of explicit importance, forever immortalizing the statue's lofty significance.

"Wow," Goten's eyes, wide and bright like the stars themselves, roamed the bustling stoned non-cement streets in wonderment.

"I know, right!" Naruto gushed in agreement, sweeping an index finger over to the focal point of the village, "And over there's the Hokage monument! It's where all Hokages get their faces put, and someday, my face will be on that mountain when I become the Hokage, believe it!"

"Yeah! I think you'll make it in no time."

"Heh-heh. Thanks."

"Alright, that's enough for now," Kakashi remarked, hands slacked in his pockets for once, "You can play tourist guide with Goten later. Right now, I need to escort him and Trunks to Lord Hokage for an audience."

"Aw!" Naruto whined like a petulant child who just couldn't get his way, "But I wanna play now! Can't the old man wait?"

"Naruto…" Kakashi sighed tiredly.

Goten hadn't failed him in his patience handling of the blond for the last week prior, and he didn't fail Kakashi this time in managing the boy, "It'll be alright. I just find you after I'm done with Lord Hokage," He chuckled brightly, earning an approving nod from Kakashi at the respectful proper way of which he addressed the leader of the village.

'He's not even from here and he already addresses Lord Hokage as one should,' Which was more than Naruto could say, but then again Goten's polite nature was obviously a result of a careful upbringing; something Naruto just didn't have.

Naruto's eyes glistened, bottom lip jutting out like a puppy told he couldn't accompany his master, "You promise?"

Goten nodded breezily, "Uh-huh!" To solidify their promise officially the way all kids knew how, he lifted a curled pinkie, "Pinkie promise." Naruto nodded excitedly in return, snaking a pinkie of his own around Goten's, heart swelling up with euphoria as they juggled their pinkies up and down in rhythm, the others watching them with fond looks softening their faces. Even Sasuke and Trunks smirked a little affectionately at the two's tender-hearted display of innocent friendship.

"Okay!" Naruto saluted him, "I'll be waiting, pal!" Goten nodded.

"I'll make sure you each get your pay for the mission. For now, you're dismissed," Kakashi stated. His young charges nodded and each headed off to their own routines while being waved off by Goten. Kakashi turned to the demi Saiyans, "Shall we go?"

Trunks shrugged, gesturing his arm forward open at the palm, "Lead the way." Kakashi nodded and the remaining trio of the decided makeshift team of five drifted through the crowded stoned streets of Konoha, Goten returning to his starry-eyed assimilation of the Feudal era-esque sightings which contrasted Trunks' sharp assessment of Konoha.

Konoha was a very peculiar place. While at a first glance it seemingly resembled an overly large village in the rural areas, what with its myriad of small huts and stands of all kinds selling merchandise or food in the market district, a closer observation would reveal the few modern-day technology integrated in the seemingly primitive state. For example, it had telephone poles and even street lights, indicating they ran on electricity and not lit torches the way a normal primitive civilianization would have.

Granted street lights and telephone poles were far more advanced in West City, but these twenty first centuries devices they were seeing following Kakashi to the Hokage's office seemed vastly out of place in the nigh prehistoric City-sized village of Konoha.

Kakashi's single eye floated over to Goten's straight edged, lightly yellow mane, "Aren't you the least bit exhausted?"

Goten's eyes lofted up to him with innocent curiosity, "No. Why do you ask, Mr Kakashi?"

"Oh, it's nothing much really," Kakashi seemingly evaded, looking forward, "You've been in that state since Naruto requested you to go into it for over twenty hours now," He shrugged, "I assumed you would be feeling some sort of fatigue by now."

Goten's perplexed gaze glided over to his best friend's cross armed posture of insouciance, "I think he's just jealous he can't keep his Hawk eye open nearly as long as we can maintain Super Saiyan." Trunks taunted, finally causing the unrustable scarecrow of indomitable tolerance to stumble in his steps.

He straightened, expression sheepishly sweat-ridden, "My, where would you get such a ridiculous name for my Sharingan, Trunks?" He deflected, drawing a snort from the lavender-haired preteen, "But you're right though. I can't leave my Sharingan active for even ten minutes without running the risk of Chakra consumption," He shrugged, sighing sarcastically, "It's just my curse."

He expected another snide remark as a kick to his lack of endurance from the rude boy of the two, but what he actually provoked as a direct result of mentioning his world's version of latent power was both unnerving and fascinating.

"Hey, Trunks. What's catra?"

"He said chakra, you moron! And I think that's their version of energy."

"Oh, that makes sense!"

Kakashi looked at the two with growing fascination.

'How on earth does their world operate?'

XxX

After a moderately long – they were walking at normal pace after all in what was the equivalent of a small city- the trio reached the far end of the village and their destination, the hugest tower in the Hidden Leaf Village, but that wasn't counting much considering most buildings in Konoha were either one or two stories at best. This crimson fiery red tower was three story, fittingly emblazoned with the kanji for fire and neighboured beside a much smaller one-story building where little kids could be seen frolicking around.

"Here we are," Kakashi clarified, guiding the two insanely preteen boys through the gates and through the two double doors of the tower. He checked in with a secretary who received a courteous bow from Goten and a cool, slangy greeting from Trunks before the cyclops led them all up a flight of stairs where they stopped by a chocolate brown, beautifully crafted ornate door.

Kakashi rose a set of knuckles to the interior, and respectfully rapped them against it. After a moment, an elderly wizened voice floated through, "Proceed."

Kakashi did as allowed, turning the doorknob before opening the door, kindly letting the boys in first before going in himself, closing the door behind him in the process, "Lord Hokage."

An elderly gentleman stood with his back to them in the small, clamped office they had ambled into, one arm draped behind his back and another held up to his face as he stared out the massive window overlooking his village in peaceful contentment. As was customary for any Kage, the Third Hokage wore long red and white robes covering the length of his frame as though it were a dress with a white kimono emblazoned with the kanji for "Third" going down the back.

He glided around, a pipe in his bearded mouth and triangle-shaped hat also bearing the insignia for fire on the brim of it. A kind smile worked its way across his crusty lips, "Ah, Kakashi. I trust the mission to the Land of Waves went by smoothly."

"Besides from the few wrenches we ran into, it actually wasn't so bad," The masked man joked slightly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded knowingly, eyes floating warmly down to the two boys by his shins; the wild-haired boy giving him a shy smile and the lavender-haired boy just keeping his arms crossed, "Can I assume these two are young Trunks and young Goten you sent your ninja hound to inform me about ahead of their arrivals?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Kakashi clarified, eye shining gratefully on the two, "These are them. They got us out of a right pickle when we ran into one of those "wrenches" I mentioned, and Trunks here even went on to flat out complete the mission all by himself."

"Is that so?" Hiruzen asked, sounding amusedly impressed as he gazed upon their contrasting reactions to Kakashi's praise. The lavender-haired preteen nodded in smug content and the wild-haired boy blushed humbly, "Overcoming what should have actually been a difficult B-ranked mission as opposed to the simple C-ranked it was thought to be single-handedly is no easy task, young man."

"Ah, it was nothing," The lavender-haired half Saiyan assured none too humbly, indirectly introducing himself as Trunks, eliciting an amused chuckle from the elder at the display of arrogance.

"Hi there, Lord Hokage," The orange clad boy greeted him absolutely formally, hands grasped together in a prayer motion and upper body dipping into a bow.

"Well now! What good manners you have!" Hiruzen praised, increasing Goten's blush, "I see you were very well raised." At Goten's adorable little 'uh-huh' he chuckled once more before sobering slightly, "Now then, we should discuss the circumstances behind your… unique arrivals."

Trunks groaned, "I knew this was coming."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Come now, child. What do you take me for? Though I may not look it I am fairly open-minded to the unnatural."

"Uh-huh." Trunks muttered sarcastically.

"Though I confess, I was admittedly sceptical when I read the report on the occurrences prior to your encounter with Kakashi and his squad," Hiruzen admitted, mostly to pacify the purple-haired preteen's cynicism, chuckling kindly when he pouted, "It is not every day when two exceptionally talented youths arrive under such extenuating circumstances."

"What's more, Lord Hokage," Kakashi interjected, drawing Hiruzen's attention to him, "Neither Trunks nor Goten use or have any knowledge of Chakra." Hiruzen sobered, contemplative expression betraying none of his thoughts, "It seems the energy source they utilize is just akin to Chakra."

"And may I ask what is this new energy you speak of?" Hiruzen asked.

"Oh! We use Ki," Goten answered, shocking the two shinobi in the room.

"Ki!" Kakashi gasped, lone eye extended wide.

The demi Saiyans spared looks of equal perplexity to the two stunned shinobi before exchanging equally slumped shrugs with each other, "Yeah, so?" Trunks asked, ignorant of the ramifications of using the known source of energy in his world, "What's the big deal? Everyone uses Ki where we come from."

"That is life energy you speak freely of," Hiruzen remarked, propping his pipe upon his lips, "If most in your world truly utilize the essential energy needed to live so mundanely then the average life expectancy of your world's inhabitants should be no greater than thirty," He pressed his hat down, "And I even fear that is being generous."

Goten and Trunks blinked owlishly to how ominous he made weaponizing their source of energy sound before the former raised his hand.

"Yes, you may proceed," Hiruzen allowed, loving the boy's politeness.

"Uh, Lord Hokage. None of us have ever died from Ki exhaustion before," True enough. Even when his older brother was practically zapped of every last ounce of Ki he had from those two goons of Babidi he never kicked the bucket. The wild-haired half Saiyan really didn't know where the elder got the notion that Ki-consumption equalled death from.

"I see," Hiruzen accepted, "Well I suppose since we do not have any evidence to support our theory, we will just have to take your word for it young man."

Trunks' hand shot up next, but instead of politely waiting to be allowed, chimed in with a question of his own, even improperly addressing Hiruzen to add to his already curt interruption, "Yo, Gramps!" Hiruzen frowned, sadly concluding both couldn't be gems of politeness, "What's chakra?"

"Hm." Kakashi hummed in thought. The boys looked up at him as he cupped his chin, "That is… a tough one." Where was Sakura when he needed her? "Chakra is essentially what you identified it as earlier, our version of your Ki, only it's comprised of both physical energy, and spiritual energy."

"Oh, neat."

"Very."

"If I may," The Hokage interjected, "How do you primarily utilize Ki? To be specific, how would you say you mainly incorporate KI in your attacks?" The demi Saiyans shared a look of confusion before glancing back to the leader equivalent of a major in their own world with equally straight-faced expressions.

"To blow stuff up."

Kakashi and Hiruzen faltered comically hearing such a simple answer.

"Surely you jest," Hiruzen tried to insist, wiping the awkward sweat from his brow with a handkerchief he pulled from his person, "That would make Ki strictly one-dimensional in terms what it is capable of ability-wise."

"Well, yeah. It is, Ki just blows stuff up," Trunks returned bluntly, crossing his arms, "Show 'em Goten."

Goten nodded and seemingly magnetically, lifted himself from the ground, hovering over to the window beside Hiruzen, earning raised eyebrows of Interest from the two seasoned veteran shinobi at the rare utilization of a jutsu only seen in one region of the land, and it wasn't theirs.

"So, beside from... producing explosions you are capable of flight by manipulating your Ki, correct?" Hiruzen surmised, eyes expressing nothing as the orange-clad boy floated over to his window, pushing it up and holding out a hand, pointing it to the sky.

"Yeah." Trunks clarified.

"Here. It's like this," Goten said. A low relaxing humming sound flared to life, giving way to a spherical orb the colour of the sun materializing on his palm that whooshed to the sky, detonating in a small, fiery explosion superseding that of a paper tag, dropping the jaws of Hiruzen and Kakashi, though he only blissfully reclosed the window and flashed their slack-jawed expressions a helpful smile, "See?"

"Never do that again!" Kakashi roared, uncharacteristically losing his cool. Good lord the boy probably frightened half the village with that absurdly powerful demonstration of energy-made paper tags in the forms of orbs.

Much to the humble preteen's credit, he acknowledged he perhaps went overboard with his display of Ki manipulation, rubbing the back of his head, "Woops. Guess I went a little overboard, huh?" These people weren't as strong as him and/or Trunks. Even just half of their power had the potential to frighten them horribly.

"So that is Ki manipulation, I presume. Yes, that is lethal, too lethal. Don't it again," Hiruzen mock ordered, eliciting more chuckles from the boy, "It seems Ki, while lacking versatility, allows the wielder far more freedom. If what I read from Kakashi is to be believed, you are both capable of channelling your Ki so it shrouds your bodies like a suit of armour, correct?"

The Ki wielders nodded before Trunks probed, "So what's so great about Chakra, Pops? You make it sound like it totally has Ki beat, at least in versatility."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Chakra has many uses, my boy. Most importantly being the benchmark for a myriad of many Shinobi jutsu."

"How're they any different from Ki attacks?" Trunks retorted.

"Well," Kakashi took over, "Beside from just 'blowing stuff up,' jutsu fall into three sub categories. Taijutsu, which you should already have down seeing as it's only hand-to-hand combat, Genjutsu: Illusions which work by manipulating the Chakra in your opponent's brain, and Ninjutsu, which, depending on the jutsu, can vary in the diversity, but most do, as you would say, 'blow stuff up'."

"Wow," Goten breathed, eyes lit with awe.

Trunks wasn't anymore convinced of Chakra's wide array of techniques than before, "Still not seeing how that's any better Ki."

Kakashi gave the boy a knowing eye smile, "You'll learn."

"I… will?"

"That brings us to our next point," Hiruzen remarked, gaining their attention, "To ensure you both have incomes as you are too young to work regular civilian jobs, I have opted to place each of you on one of the three rookie Genin squads that passed this time of year," He explained, a smirk crossing his lips at the expectant looks filling their eyes, "Of course, if you are not interested we can always discuss another method of income…"

"We wanna!" Both exclaimed, drawing a laugh from Hiruzen at the adventurous spirits emerging from the youths, "Wait." Trunks continued, "'Each of us?' So Goten and I won't be on the same team?" Goten suddenly had a fearful look in his eyes.

"Oh, heaven's no!" Hiruzen chuckled, "It is sacrilegious by itself there will be two teams of four let alone one team of five."

"Why can't we just get a squad by ourselves? Kakashi can vouch for us," Trunks retorted, turning the full force of Goten's puppy dog eyed look onto the masked Jounin, who sighed with an awkward bead of sweat racing down his cheek.

"That's because you wouldn't gain experience by ourselves," Kakashi explained, "While I have no doubt with the power each of you possess, you could quickly move up the ranks, that alone won't be enough to earn you a promotion. It takes more than just power to be a shinobi. It takes careful planning, quick thinking and maturity. These are attributes you can acquire much faster under an experienced Jounin." He smiled comfortingly to the look of dismay befalling Goten's face, "Don't worry. Once you begin to move up the ranks, you'll be doing missions together in no time. It doesn't long to rank up either. I was already a Jounin when you're age."

"Alright, fine. Split us up," Trunks relented with an annoyed sigh, rubbing the back of his head.

Goten's dewy eyed look drifted over to him, "Trunks?"

"I mean, the old timer has a point," Trunks reasoned, turning to his best friend with a finger held up, a cheeky grin tugging at his lips, "Just think about it, Goten. If we were on the same team we would blow the competition out of the water every time. The others wouldn't even get a chance."

Goten giggled, feeling better, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"I know I am." He grinned back, turning back to the Third Hokage who was smiling endearingly at their display of brotherly-like reassurance, "So, Pops. What're our options?"

His smile faded, a frown surfacing. He really wished the boy had manners like his friend, "Yes, you have the choice of three select squads to pick from and one of them just happens to be led by Kakashi here."

They glanced up curiously at the lanky silver-haired squad leader, who tossed them a cheery wave and an eye smile, "Yo!"

"Shoulda figured," Trunks sighed, "Alright, Goten should stay with Kakashi. I'll take one of the remaining two."

Goten pointed to himself dumbly, "Me?"

Trunks' reasoning was flawless, "Well, yeah. You got closer to Naruto than I did," He clapped Goten's shoulder, either not noticing or caring of the warm looks of approval his selfless act of relinquishing a squad he already knew to his friend because he bonded with them more elicited from Hiruzen, "Naruto needs ya, pal. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine elsewhere."

Goten's finger pushed up on his chin, jutting up his bottom lip so his facial features formed an clueless expression, "Hmm, I don't really get it, but okay!" He beamed, "I like Naruto. He's nice."

"Sure you do," Trunks grinned, though his look of self-satisfaction vanished when his face scrunched up in comical annoyance, a thumb jerking up to Kakashi's accordingly blinking face of owlish confusion, "Besides If I have to deal with him jerking me around 'til I rank up I'll go nuts!"

"My, don't over-exaggerate, Trunks."

"Ahh!"

'That boy,' Hiruzen chuckled amusedly to Trunks' defence mechanism to deflect attention away from his thoughtful nature. Although it wasn't stated in their bio sent to him by Kakashi's ninja hound, It was clear to the elder the boy had been made privy to Naruto's hardships during their unexpected gathering in the Land of Waves, and seeing how Goten eased Naruto's pain, motivated Trunks to encourage him to stay with the one team they knew. In that instance, Hiruzen knew the boy would make for a good inheritor for the Will of Fire.

He had all the qualities already.

"Alright," Hiruzen settled down, seating himself behind his desk, "Now that young Goten's placement has been decided, all that is left is young Trunks. I will summon the remaining squad leaders for a meeting to discuss which of their squads could benefit the most from your services."

"Sounds cool," Trunks accepted.

"Indeed," Hiruzen agreed, "Now all that remains is accommodation," He chuckled warmly to the two's blank of dawning realization, "As I am certain neither of you have any desire to sleep on the street."

Goten thought about it for a second, "Hm, I could probably have a sleepover at Naruto's if I ask nicely." The veteran shinobi each nodded, finding that acceptable.

"Could probably crash at Sasuke's for a bit," Trunks opted succinctly.

"Are you that's a good idea?" Kakashi asked.

"No sweat. If he refuses I'll just beat him up," Awkward beads of sweat ran down the backs of everyone's head at that definitive answer, "I'm kidding, darn, chill. I'll work something out otherwise."

"Well, if there are any complications in your sleep arrangements you can come see me," Hiruzen assured, eliciting a nod from Trunks before he pulled open his desk, rummaging through to remove two similar pieces of blue cloth they had seen on all members of Team seven. "Here. With these you are now both active members of Konoha. May the Will of Fire burn brightly within you."

The comradery doctrine went over their heads of course; both too excited as they reached forward and snatched their headbands from the Third's desk, "Awesome!" Trunks crowed, marvelling at the metal plated cloth in his grip, his buddy doing likewise, "Hey, Goten. Let's put ours on now."

"Okay." He agreed, and waited until Trunks had decided on the most fitting place to flaunt his headband – that being his waist – and copied him, both now sporting Konoha headbands around their waists as though they were belts.

"Awesome," Trunks said, hands on hips as he marvelled down at his headband belted around his waist, "So we done here or what Pops?"

Hiruzen chuckled at boy's restlessness, once more rummaging through his desk to place two envelopes on his desk, "Yes, you may go. Do not forget your pay for the mission, unless that was charitable work." The boys nodded, grinning as they forward and accepted their paychecks gleefully before heading for the door.

"Bye Mr Kakashi! Can't wait to start working together with the others." Goten crowed on his way out.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Yes I'll see you soon when I've decided when the next team building exercise should be." Goten nodded and followed Trunks out of the door. Once it closed and he was sure the two had put enough distance between themselves and the Hokage's office to not accidentally eavesdrop on their conversation he rounded back to the Third Hokage who sobered impassively.

"Well?" Hiruzen commanded, resting his elbows on the surface of his desk as he intertwined his fingers, "What is your opinion on those two?"

"They're remarkable Lord Hokage," Kakashi relayed earnestly, "Goten is a sweetheart and Trunks has a sharp analytical mind. They'll be assets to Konoha with their power."

Hiruzen's methodically calmed expression warmed hearing Kakashi's honest take on the two, "Ah, that is pleasing to hear," He assured, "You know, I was admittedly wary when I read in your report pertaining to two enigmatic highly skilled boys that came from another world, but If what I have examined and heard from you in regard to their personalities, it appears my worries were unfounded."

"One more thing to note," Kakashi tensed, locking eyes with the Third Hokage grimly, "They can sense the Nine Tails from inside Naruto."

Eyes briefly widening, Hiruzen's grandfatherly expression returned to stoic veteran, "Oh? And may I ask how they reacted to that revelation?"

"Trunks showed admirable empathy for Naruto," Kakashi explained, "He was the one who came to me in regard to Naruto and his excessive attachment to Goten. After I informed him of Naruto's black sheep status among the villagers, I hinted at what Naruto contains inside him only as a way to test how far his sensory prowess extends, and he instantly revealed he's been sensing the Nine Tails from inside Naruto all along."

Hiruzen studied Kakashi with such a hardened gaze of solemn pensive thought he bristled under its intensity. For as grandfatherly as Hiruzen always portrayed himself for his people, this was still the successor of the **God of Shinobi,** dubbed **the Professor,** still hailed and recognized as the strongest of the five kage by the other leaders of the respective nations even at his old age. A stare of scrutiny from him wasn't something easily withstood.

"I see," Hiruzen eased up, spinning in his chair before flashing through speedy hand signs, materializing a small fire technique used to light his pipe. He inhaled relaxing tobacco, puffing out a cloud of smoke with a content sigh of released tension, "That is troubling news, but if young Trunks truly reacted so admirably as you say then perhaps my suspicions are once again misguided."

A sigh floated through the veil covering Kakashi's mouth, "I hope so," Lurching his head back Kakashi allowed his gaze to drift off to the ceiling where he envisioned an older-looking Naruto without whiskers and sideburns trailing his face, "For Naruto's sake mostly," A red haired woman materialized beside the Naruto look alike in Kakashi's vision, "Goten is…" He shook his head as if steeling his resolve, "He is the light that Naruto needs." Hiruzen gave him a sidelong glance before finding his own gaze suddenly fascinated with the ceiling.

"Yes, I agree."


	4. Let the Good Times Roll

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto.**

 **What's going on everybody? Thugs Bunny here to bring ya all another chapter of, yep, you guessed it. New Kids on the Block. Oh, boy. It is a treat but first FUN FACT time. Did you know Kishimoto wanted a DOG to be the Fourth Hokage. Not kidding. Check out Sawyer's latest video for more information. But yh, he wanted some badass Dog to be the Fourth Hokage. I guess he got inspired from Dragon ball again since the King of Earth in DB is some talking dog in a suit fittingly named King Furry. Heh-heh. I just found that funny.**

 **Also, little Japanese girls hate Sakura. Good to know.**

 **Don't worry, people. I know of Ki's excellence :D I was just having Goten and Trunks be unwilling to go into full detail of their abilities. One, Goten can't explain stuff well and Trunks is just impatient so yh. Hiruzen will have to learn of the flexibility of Ki through observation as they boys play with their powers throughout the story.**

* * *

With the brightly lit radiating sun symbolizing their vibrancy, the newly made Genin raced out of the doors of Hiruzen's tower, leaping excitedly over the gates like a pair of stoned frogs, absolutely ignorant to owlish looks their high-level of athleticism evoked from those around them.

"Darn, this is sweet!" Trunks crowed, skidding to a stop, once again marvelling at his headband as he fiddled with it greedily on his waist.

"Yeah, this is gonna be fun," Goten agreed, a wide smile breaking across his lips.

"Things might just go our way now, pal," Trunks remarked, casually ripping off the top of his handed envelope before emptying the contents in his bare palm, expression grimacing as if he had spoken too soon at the completely unfamiliar American-like dollars in his hand, "Darn, me and my big mouth."

Goten's big, doe eyes blinked twice his way, "What is it, Trunks?"

Trunks flashed his notes, deadpanning, "This world doesn't use zeni as its form of currency," He lowered his hand, scowling in annoyance at the notes, "Shoulda figured."

Goten curiously peeled open his own envelope, though instead of completely taking off the lid and dashing it in the winds like his decidedly ruder friend, kept a small portion of the top still attached to the envelope so he could properly throw the cover away as a whole once he was done with it. He goggled at the notes spread out on his palm.

"Whoa, you're right," He clarified, picking up his own cut of the Land of Waves mission in between his fingers like he was going to fan himself, lifting an eyebrow pensively, "How'll we know how to use them?"

"Just hang with someone who knows the ins and outs of this world," Trunks stated, pocketing his notes.

Goten beamed, "Good idea, Trunks."

"Right, right," Trunks intoned dryly, sheathing one hand into his pocket, "Listen, I'm gonna go train somewhere. What about you?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Goten's tilt of the head, leaning forward at the waist in a probing fashion, "Don't _you_ have somewhere to be?"

"No," Though he initially blurted out his answer cheerily, he was forced to rethink his plans for the day ahead at the increasing incredulity in Trunks' eyes.

"Really?"

"Um." Goten situated his finger upon his chin, lightly rocking his head back to gaze upon the clouds thoughtfully while Trunks folded his arms, near rapidly tapping the ground beneath their feet with barely restrained patience.

"Asks you to go Super Saiyan so you'd look alike. Gets you to make a pink promise so we could go see the old guy in the tower," Trunks hinted, eyebrow raising in irritation, "Ring any bells?"

It did thankfully if Goten's brightening visage coupled with slamming a fist into a palm in recognition was any indication, "Yeah! I promised I would find Naruto to play with him after we were done with Lord Hokage."

"Took ya long enough," Trunks sneered playfully, eliciting a pout from Goten.

"Don't be mean!" He demanded, lashing out with a roundhouse punch which Trunks flipped away from.

"Alright, alright," Trunks pacified, still grinning smugly as he straightened from the hand stand he flipped into in evasion of Goten's attack, "I was kidding!" He tried to humour Goten's fuming glare with a sweat-ridden face and flailed hands, but couldn't maintain it under the fact Goten and serious didn't fit in the same sentence unless the words "couldn't be" were sandwiched in between. The son of his father's rival trying to look angry was the equivalent of a baby attempting to mimic his/her father's scowl.

It just didn't work.

"Big baby," Trunks muttered inaudibly.

"What was that!"

"I said big appetite, as in you'll probably eat out that Ramen place Naruto wanted to hang out at with you before I even get a chance to go there myself," Trunks evaded swiftly, holding firm against Goten's adorable attempt to look even remotely threatening with his balled fists and puffed out cheeks, an awkward smile plastered on his face in his effort to resist bursting out laughing at his best friend's childlike tantrum.

"Gah." Goten pouted, cute, sulky expression fading at the reminder of the establishment his new friend wanted to take him, "Yeah! I remember now," He beamed, tiptoeing delicately on a single heel before facing away from Trunks in a spin and consequently missing the silent sigh of relief he exhaled. Smiling blissfully, Goten adjusted his palm over his forehead as though he was shielding his eyes from the sun and leaned, hopping on one foot as he gawked joyfully at the relative area miles ahead of them that he felt Naruto's "Ki" signature linger, "I hope Naruto's there waiting for me. I'm so hungry I could eat a whale."

'Man, I bet Goten couldn't stay angry to win a toy off me,' Trunks mused, caressing the top of his head; awkward smile straining even more when he remembered he still technically owed his buddy a toy for using Super Saiyan to get the drop on him in the World Tournament after they had all explicitly agreed _not_ to go Super Saiyan, 'Woops.' He sobered, arms falling to his sides and posture turning and dropping to a take-off stance, "Alright, I'm off. See ya when I see ya."

Goten turned back to him fully, previous comical, light-hearted fury devoid from his blank expression, "Hey, are you sure Sasuke's gonna let you sleepover at his?" He pointed out, "Mr Kakashi didn't seem so convinced like he was when I suggested sleeping over at Naruto's."

"That's 'cause you and Naruto are both a couple of airheads," Trunks jibed, igniting a small flame of Goten's puppy dog anger in his eyes, "Meh, It'll be fine. The guy may look like a stick-in-the-mud, but he doesn't seem all that bad."

That follow-up deflection from his taunt of the empty headedness of Goten and Naruto worked as the former gleefully crossed his arms above his head, snickering mischievously, "Yeah, he kinda reminds me of your Dad."

"Shut up!" He let a grin cross his lips when Goten cheekily stuck his tongue out at him at getting under his skin, "Fine, I'm gone. Smell ya later. Oh, and yeah, say hi to the dork for me."

"Bun bye."

As their blue auras of visible flames flared to life around their bodies, the demi Saiyans parted ways for the time being, whooshing off to the skies beyond leaving two visible blue streams trailing in the wake of their insane-level of speed, never noticing the dropped tray of dingos their demonstration of both speed and a rare technique had caused to fall from the hand of a busty, dark purple-haired woman.

"What. The. Hell?"

New Kids on the Block

 **C**

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 **R**

 **FOUR**

Let the Good Times Roll

"C'mon, c'mon!" Naruto ceaselessly repeated, and ceaselessly altered between impatiently slamming his foot upon the ground, restlessly pacing back and forth, and nervously biting at his now non-existent nails, all outside a small hut that had only white curtain-like flags emblazoned with red kanji by way of an entrance. The steamy, boiling fog and water-mouthing aroma wafting through the curtains of the hut did nothing to lessen the blond Jinchuuriki's fidgety posture, especially since it reminded his stomach to remind him of his hunger with a belligerent, audible growl.

"Gah… I'm hungry. Where are you?" He curled in on himself, arms folded over his crying stomach, a proverbial rain cloud beginning to form over his head.

"Oh, Naruto," A huge, non-intimidating shadow eclipsing his small frame prompted Naruto to tilt his head back, catching sight of a warm smile he almost mistook for a frown from his upside-down perspective. If not for the tender-hearted gnarled chuckle he may have done so, "Careful, you'll snap your neck bending it like that. Then where will half my business come from?" The amused voice belonged to a middle-aged slightly rotund gentleman of an average height, dressed in a milky-white buttoned, long-sleeved jacket modelled for a cook, complementing his uniformed white pants and white beanie over his receding hair. One could see the last remnants of his grey hairline around his head like a headband.

His feet were also fitted with sandals akin to Naruto's, though unlike Naruto's, his were wooden and not rubber, indicating he had no such use of high-levels of movability the shinobi sandals offer the wearers.

Naruto repositioned his head properly, then scratched the back of it sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess I did kinda look silly, huh Mr Chef?" He conceded.

Teuchi chuckled, eyes remaining perpetually closed, "Come on kid. Let's get you fed," He recommended, gesturing to the hut with his head, "You've been sitting out here for ages now. I even had the time to make a quick delivery run." He indicated to the empty box in his grip by swinging it casually by the handle.

"I told ya I'm waiting for my friend before I chow down!" Naruto insisted, stubbornly dropping to the floor on his rear and criss-crossing his arms and legs.

"Is that so?" Teuchi asked, sounding delightfully impressed. Naruto nodded, more furiously, "Well when he comes you know where to show him."

Naruto beamed, "You got it, old man!" He laughed _with_ Naruto before finding his way inside his little humble establishment, and following his departure from Naruto's view, the blond's confident façade dropped with a sigh, "C'mon, Goten. Don't make a liar out of me."

Another shadow blackened the pavement before his saddening eyes faintly, but much like the last one it, too, was far too friendly in nature for Naruto to contemplate freaking out or going on the defensive, "Naruto!" A mature, but still relatively young voice called out from behind him happily.

Naruto brightened sunnily. While it wasn't the person he was eagerly anticipating he was still a significant role modal in his life and the first person to ever truly acknowledge his existence, "Iruka-sensei!~" He leaped up, turning to his greet his former sensei with a wide bear hug, cuddling against his chest the way a little brother would.

Although Iruka wasn't "tall" by adult standards, he naturally towered over the blond's short posture. He had tanned skin, complemented by his coffee-brown hair he styled in a ponytail. As for get-up, it was as generic as it got in terms of Konoha military standards, comprising of a usual long-sleeved navy-blue jumper matching his pants and under a sleeveless green flak jacket possessing two front pockets. The patented shinobi fingerless armoured gloves, headband and sandals were the last of Iruka Umino's Konoha uniform.

The basic, run-of-the-mill attire most shinobi in Konoha wore when they moved past Naruto's rank of Genin and move up to Iruka's of Chunin.

Kakashi also wore an exact replica of Iruka's Konoha shinobi uniform.

Really, Iruka's only unique trait and decided 'cool factor' about him was the admittedly cool-looking X-shaped scar running across his nose.

"Hey, hey," He complained half-heartedly, tussling with clearly no effort to remove Naruto from him. His expression warmed to his younger brother figure's content giggles, the blond snuggling against his chest, "You idiot," He remarked, endearingly patting him on his head, "I heard from Kakashi about the mission that was masqueraded as a C-rank for… personal reasons on the client's part, and I just want to say, I'm proud of you. I'm sure you were probably scared handling situations beyond your skill level, but the fact you made it back in one piece is proof enough of your commendable spirit."

Naruto pried himself from Iruka, scratching the top of his head with his index finger and chuckling sheepishly at the praise, "Well, we did have help."

Pride filled Iruka's gaze to Naruto's earnest admittance instead of vainly wallowing in the praise of his performance, "Yes, Kakashi told me about those two," He stated, smiling in recognition, "I have to say, they sound remarkably talented. Bypassing the academy isn't particularly common. You could probably learn a thing or two from them, Naruto."

Though he meant it as a joke, his former student took it literally. Thankfully not in an offended way, but more of a literal 'They-absolutely-can-teach-me awesome stuff' sort of agreeing manner.

"You should've seen them, Iruka-sensei!~" Naruto enthused, hands curled into fists of barely contained excitement, "They kicked so much ass! The bad guys didn't even know what hit 'em!" He shadow boxed the air with a snap shot of a jab to emphasize Trunks' and Goten's butt thrashing of Gato and his goons.

Iruka blinked oddly, ignorant to the insight of the recently-made Genin's worldly demonstration of advanced skill. The only relevant feedback he received from Kakashi on the masked man's way out from the Hokage tower was that they happened to come across two exceptionally skilled youths Naruto's age from outside the Elemental Nations. As Konoha was an idealistic society at heart, it came as no surprise to Iruka to hear that Kakashi had learnt they were trustworthy, or at least friendly, from observation alone.

He neither relayed nor implied the two wonder kids completely dominated the mission by themselves the way Naruto was implying, though.

"O… kay," The scarred-faced academy instructor accepted, awkwardly, "Well," A smile lit up his features, "It's good to see you're making friends, Naruto."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto recalled, face splitting off into a heart-warming grin, "I'm like, totally tight with one of the guys. He's awesome!"

Iruka gasped, then slowly, a fond smile crept across his lips at the blond's radiating smile of pure euphoria, the kind only a close friend could provoke, "Well, if you two are ever together bring him down to the academy sometime. I'll treat you both to Ramen, how's that sound?"

Naruto inhaled excitedly before realization made him deflate, "That's the thing," He said, twiddling with his index fingers, "I'm supposed to meet him right here."

"Really?" Iruka asked, genuinely curious. That implied the recently made Genin was either familiar enough with Konoha to know the lay out or had a guide with him, but Naruto only nodded, "Well," He checked his watch, "What time did you both agree to rendezvous?"

Naruto had the decency to look thoroughly sheepish as he chuckled, "We didn't set a time. He just promised me he would find me after the old man was done boring him."

Iruka frowned flatly, "So he doesn't know where you are?"

"But wait!" Naruto defended hastily, flailing his hands, "It's okay! He has like super sensing powers! He can track anyone, anywhere like a bloodhound!"

"So he's a sensory-type?" Iruka murmured, and a nod from Naruto gave him plenty to chew on. Index finger and thumb pensively embracing his chin, Iruka lowered his head slightly, 'Sensory-types aren't known for their high combat capabilities. What is Lord Hokage thinking? I find it hard to believe two kids, one apparently being a sensory-type, have enough experience to completely bypass the academy even if they did assist on a disguised B-ranked mission.' In Iruka's realistic mentality, they couldn't have pitched in no higher than ten percent at most of the wrongly ranked mission to the Land of Waves, at best. Even if they were bona-fide prodigies they still could've benefitted from a few months of academy training to dry their ears a bit.

He just couldn't understand the Hokage's mindset or Kakashi's recommendation of two wonder kids skipping the academy to join the force from the off.

"Say, Naruto,-" His hand left his chin, head whipping back into place and eyebrow raising to the thin fingers sliding over Naruto's eyes, and they weren't his own. In fact, the small hands over Naruto's eyes didn't seem to belong to anyone behind him because there were no feet positioned behind his, 'Huh?' Automatically, Iruka trailed the hands up a pair of slender, blue-sleeved covered arms, eyes bulging out in amazement to the upside down yellow mane of hair and cheekily grinning visage hanging in the air above Naruto to hide his eyes from view while evidently not using him for support, 'Incredible.'

"Guess who?" The radiance of the following smile emerging on Naruto's face could've easily replaced the sun's luminescence on the whole of Konoha at the unmistakeable playful voice that had already cemented itself a permanent spot in his heart.

"Goten!~" He crowed happily, and Goten gleefully slid his palms from his eyes as Naruto 180'd turned and embraced him, "Yay! I knew you wouldn't break our promise. What took y-." He stopped his rumblings of relief when he felt Goten's head inadvertently prod his chest, "What?" He stepped back, now taking in Goten's distinctly airborne upside-down stance with a gaping expression, "No way. Are you… Can you fly?"

"Yeah." Goten shrugged, which looked admittedly weird since his arms were going _up_ his legs, "I thought everyone could." Or at least most people. His older brother made the lighter than air technique sound incredibly mundane and common when he teased him about not knowing it.

"Well I don't know it, believe it."

Goten smiled apologetically, scratching his cheek, "Woops."

Any excess or leftover annoyance Naruto may have instinctively felt swelling up inside of him to Goten's breezy attitude to such an awesome jutsu of decided rarity receded, vanished like it never existed at the humble acknowledgement of his mistake, "Aw, it's fine." He chortled alongside Goten's small titter, tucking his arms behind his head, "Oh, but can you show me how to fly? I _really_ wanna do that too. It looks sooo~ awesome!"

How could he ever tell him someone with a vastly different energy source than Ki would be unlikely to ever learn the Lighter than Air technique when looking at his pleading, puppy dog eyed look? Oh, was he-?

Well, Goten now realized just how lethal the puppy dog eyed look truly was being subjected to the full blunt of Naruto's, "Uh, I can try," He was helpless to say otherwise.

"Woohoo!" Naruto hollered, pumping a fist in the air before bringing both fists before his eager eyes, "I'm gonna learn how to fly and make that bastard Sasuke so jealous! Then Sakura will fall head over heels in love with me!" At the sound of two awkwardly-filled laughs elicited from his ambitious intentions, he remembered his other companion, "Oh yeah!" He brightened, putting an arm on Goten's and half-turning, presenting him in a flourish to a slowly overcoming shell-shocked Iruka, "Iruka-sensei!~ This is the guy I was telling ya about! My new pal, Son Goten!~ He's awesome."

"Hi," The Super Saiyan greeted shyly, repositioning himself right side up but remaining airborne at Naruto's head height.

"Hey there," Iruka smiled.

Next Naruto pointed over to the scar-faced Chunin instructor himself, "And he's Iruka-sensei. He taught me almost everything I know today. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't even be half as good as I am, believe it."

"Oh, stop," Iruka mock-ordered, positively overtaken by the blond's high praise of him inside as said whiskered cheek boy snickered cheekily. Iruka grinned, warm-hearted, before shifting kind smiles to the airborne similarly blond-haired child, "When I heard from Kakashi that two highly skilled kids Naruto's age had been given the privilege of skipping the academy and rewarded their Konoha headbands, I thought he was pulling my leg, but seeing you now puts some of that doubt at ease. That's a very high-level jutsu you have. Definitely not something an academy student should have in their repertoire. Even Genin don't know how to fly. I can see now you're most deserving of that headband around your waist."

"Uh, thanks." Iruka smiled reassuringly to soothe his shy nature.

"Yeah, way to go on becoming a ninja, pal!" Naruto commended, loving the headband belted on his new buddy's waist more than said buddy cherished it himself, "You totally rule, man!" Goten sunk in his shell of modesty further, dunking his head as a rosy-red blush lightened up his cheeks, "What team are you on?"

Goten glanced up, and with his shy, tiny smile still intact, pointed to a slumped Naruto.

"Me?" Naruto pointed to himself in return, blinking.

"I'm on yours," The blond Jinchuuriki's eyes stretched open at the content clarification, mouth hanging open while Goten just smiled at the bundle of barely contained euphoria. His palms and knees shook before eventually, his hands curled into his fists of energized zest as a twin pair of flames were ignited in his cerulean, crystal eyes.

"That's awesome!~" He practically roared, hauling his arms forward to the boy which caused the airborne Super Saiyan to drop his feet to the ground so Naruto wouldn't collide with his legs, "We're gonna kick so much ass together the bad guys won't even know what hit 'em!"

As Naruto bear hugged his thoroughly embarrassed new squad member, he never noticed the tender-hearted softening of his former academy instructor's eyes, droplets of tears filling the edges of them, 'You really have come a long way, Naruto,' He mused, reminiscing of the delinquent-like prankster Naruto pulling relatively harmless, but still annoying stunts on people for attention, 'It warms my heart to see you finally making friends.' Especially since he could relate personally to Naruto's struggle for social acceptance.

"Come on, you two. Let's eat. My treat." He got the foreboding sensation he just shot himself lethally in the foot by offering to treat the resident big eater in Naruto and his friend when they flashed him gleams of opportunity with big grins on their faces, 'Why do I have the feeling I'll be walking away with an empty wallet?' He cautiously observed Goten's wide, grateful grin, unassuming of the void he held in place of what should've been a stomach, 'No, I'm overthinking things. Surely he can't eat as much as Naruto.'

xXx

The rapid sounds of munching mixed in with heavy slurping filled the stilled, unmoving air to one horrified academy instructor, shortly followed by the noisy clatter of glass bowls being stacked atop one another.

Iruka was wrong. Very, very wrong in his assumption. His jaw couldn't be anymore slacked staring in outright petrified panic with each bowl that piled on top of the last one, and the pile was well over twenty now, resembling a methodical stack of building blocks meant to get higher until it collapsed.

"Ahh!" The unstoppable eating machine exhaled leisurely, putting yet another bowl on top of the already high elevated tower with a bit of a strain reach of the tip toes, propping himself back down on his stool contently.

"Another bowl, sir?" The witness, a beautiful brunette asked him with a polite smile.

"Yes, please!" He answered breezily, striking yet another pang of terrified shock in the heart of the academy instructor sitting on the other side of Naruto.

"Aw," The witness, Ayame, cooed at his courteous demeanour, dropping a freshly made bowl of Ramen and whatever favour they chose for him. He wasn't fussy, "Here you go."

"Thank you!" Goten chirped appreciatively, digging into his meal with great gusto not at all deterred from the numerous other meals he had consumed already.

Iruka had an absolutely startling epiphany making him feel like a hasty fool for offering the devourer of all things edible a treat as he envisioned a chubby, stocky kid over his short muscular posture, '...Dear lord, he's like an Akimichi," If he had been privy to that titbit of _wallet-draining_ information he certainly wouldn't have been so forthcoming in his invitation to the monstrous eater, at least not to a restaurant that wasn't an "All-You-Can-Eat" buffet.

He flinched, stiffening under the gentle touch of the food stand owner, "Don't worry, Iruka. We'll call this an All-You-Can-Eat buffet special and leave it at that."

He almost collapsed from the sudden removal of proverbial stress weight the owner took off his shoulders from that lenient declaration, "Oh, thank god," He did, however, cover his agitated face with his palm, eliciting a laugh from the ichiraku food stand owner.

Never again would he ever assume a non-Akimichi couldn't out-eat Naruto in Ramen-eating.

The nigh heart attack wasn't worth it.

xXx

After Goten had finished ploughing through thirty bowls of Ramen of different kinds and Iruka had paid for one adult and two children buffets the Chunin instructor could only sigh in visible relief as he stared at his still relatively full wallet. Thank heavens for Teuchi's benevolence. He truly was an unsung hero. Beside from always assuring Naruto was fed even when he had no money to afford a bowl, the chef saved him a pay check worth of tons of Ramen bowls.

"What a relief," He breathed, thinking he should really buy that guy a gift in the immediate future.

Naruto laughed loudly, throwing his arms behind his head, "Didn't I say he was awesome?" He sassed, getting a mock glare from his former teacher, "Goten eats like a Choji."

"What's a 'Choji'?" Goten asked, cutely tipping his head to the side.

"Oh yeah. He's a guy I knew in the academy," The whiskered cheeked youth provided, ignoring Iruka's disproving look to his weird phrasing of his former classmate, "He eats _loads_ too, 'cept he's fa-." He reflexively snapped his palms over his mouth as if he was about to utter some unholy taboo not meant to be said by mere mortals, confusing the demi Saiyan.

"What?"

"Um…"

XxX

Up in the distance in another district of Konoha, a brown-haired overweight boy with distinctive swirl markings emblazoned on each of his cheeks suddenly paused in his activity of 'cleaning' out a bag of potato chips, a chip held in between the green bag and his bandaged hand, to glare at the clouds that were looking suspiciously like a certain dead last student of his old class.

"Huh?" His companion, a lanky, skinny youth with raven hair styled in a pineapple stopped, slothfully looking over his shoulder at the swirl-cheeked eater of chips with his hands slacked in the pockets of his cropped grey pants, "What is it, Choji?"

"For some weird reason, I feel the urge to kick Naruto's butt," Choji growled, feeling weirdly aggressive.

"What a drag. Even when the kid's not around he still manages to be a pain."

"Tell me about it."

XxX

Naruto shivered inexplicably, momentarily wrapping his arms around himself, "Heh-heh." He chuckled bashfully at Goten's blank look of perplexity, "Forget I said anything!" He flailed his palms, hoping to dismiss the whole comparison, "I forgot you're not meant to say the 'F' word even when Choji's not around, otherwise he gets mad."

"I don't really get it, but okay," Goten shrugged, flashing Naruto a reassuring smile that made him grin.

Said grin, however, receded quickly when his old academy instructor lectured, "Naruto, you shouldn't refer to your leaf comrades as inanimate objects."

Naruto pouted, but otherwise relented, pivoting from Iruka with his arms crossed, "Fine."

Iruka heaved a heavy, but silent sigh of concealed regret, 'I guess that's to be expected.' Naruto was never accepted in any social circles during his time in the academy. Even the 'uncool' crowd didn't welcome him, which said a mighty lot considering he wasn't cool in the popularity sense. Him having no respect for them was only natural, but at least he didn't call Choji out on his weight even behind his back, so that was admirable of him.

"Alright," Iruka dismissed with a gentle sigh, looking at the watch on his wrist, "I have to get back to the academy now. It was nice meeting you, Goten."

"You too, Mr Iruka. Thanks for the food," The Super Saiyan said, appreciatively dipping into a humble bow that made the instructor's eyes shine in admiration.

"Well, you really have good manners, unlike I certain knucklehead I know. Maybe you could rub off on him," Iruka joked, hinting toward that particular 'knucklehead' with his elbow, promptly causing Naruto to screw up his face squinted-eyed and cross his arms.

"Hey," He moaned slightly.

Iruka tittered good naturedly at Naruto's expertise while Goten gave him a pacifying rub on the shoulder, "Alright, see you later you two," The scarred-faced Chunin bid the boys a farewell with a wave of his shoulder, both of them waving him off as they contently watched him saunter away.

Only when Iruka was out of sight did Naruto turn toward Goten, twiddling his foot shyly, "Sooo," He struggled, "What do you wanna do?"

"I don't know."

"Well, what do you usually do?"

"Hmm. I usually play with Trunks at his house or train in the woods."

Well that narrowed out the possibilities.

"Woo! Wanna train? You can show me how to fly."

"Okay."

xXx

(Elsewhere - Hokage's Office)

xXx

The door creaking like the sound of a scrubbed window alerted the Third Hokage to the presence of another venturing into his office.

"You wanted to see me, Lord Hokage?" A relatively deep, erotic feminine voice respectfully asked.

Hiruzen lifted his head from his neatly assembled mass of paperwork and met the enticing fiery-red dragon-like eyed gaze of the most proficient Genjutsu manipulator in his village, "Ah, Kurenai. It pleasing me tremendously to see you could make it at such short notice." He leaned back in his seat, "Though I fear I must apologize for this hasty summoning."

The strands of Kurenai's long, flowing, silvery-grey glowing hair framed her graceful smile across her luminescent red-painted lips, "It's quite alright," She insisted, softly, "Though if I'm permitted to be perfectly honest, I'm intrigued by this… hasty summoning. I assume the situation must be critical for a Jounin to be summoned without a week's notice."

Hiruzen chuckled, eyes folding in his grandfatherly demeanour, "Nothing of the sort dear," He dismissed, "No, I summoned you here before me to inform you your squad shall be receiving an additional member."

Kurenai's blazing fiery-red eyes widened, "A fourth member?" She breathed, eyes lowering pensively, "They must be exceptionally skilled to be assigned to an already assembled squad."

"You are correct in your assumption," Hiruzen clarified, "Two highly talented youths from outside the Elemental Nations were reported found by Kakashi. After they contributed massively on a mistakenly labelled C-ranked mission exposing Team Seven to situations well beyond their skill level, Kakashi thought it best to bring them here. Due to their high contribution and impressive showing overall in the B-ranked mission I have opted to enlist the boys as Genin and have assigned one to Kakashi's squad."

Kurenai looked dazed, "That's," She fumbled lightly, shaking her head, "That's quite a lot to take in, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen nodded, understanding dawning in his eyes, "Indeed. It is not every day one has the privilege of encountering to two wandering warrior children from beyond the Elemental Nations."

"If I may," She requested, earning an accepting gesture from her boss, "What were the reasons they gave for coming to our lands, if they gave any that is?"

A fair question. The Elemental Nations wasn't exactly wonderland. Hiruzen had a cover story already panned out, keeping the actual story on a need to know basis, "It is to be believed they left their home from beyond to seek out a new life themselves."

"'Believed'?" Kurenai quoted.

Hiruzen nodded, grimly, "Yes. As of right now, little is known of the neighbouring continents," He reasoned, understanding beginning to dawn on the Genjutsu mistress, "They might have lived in absolute poverty for all we know," He intertwined his fingers, glancing over to the Jounin impassively, "However, I am entirely certain they must have escaped a warzone with the power they possess at their disposal."

A befuddled whisper escaped Kurenai's beautiful lips, "Power?" A bead of seat dipped down her cheek at hearing the Third Hokage highlight the power of the new recruits, "Forgive me, Lord Hokage," She dropped to a single knee, pressing a fist into the floor below, "But when you say power, I assumed they were no higher than Chunin if they're only children. How strong can they possibly be?"

A ghost of a smirk drifted across Hiruzen's lips, "Strong enough to overcome an infamous S-ranked missing nin."

Kurenai's head snapped back up, her whole-body stiffening, "Incredible."

Hiruzen nodded, stoic mask returning, "Indeed. Furthermore, according to Kakashi's report it was young Trunks himself who single-handedly defeated the S-ranked missing nin and conquered the B-ranked mission entirely without effort."

"Unbelievable," Kurenai shook her head, trying to snap herself out of the stupor she had fallen into, 'It's no use.' She didn't think she would ever be able to get over this. The S-ranked rogue ninja had to be Jounin-level in terms of capabilities to warrant such a rank in threat levels, so for any child to defeat him _without effort_ arguably made that child stronger than her, because she knew, for as confident as she was in her own abilities as a shinobi, she would not have taken down an S-ranked rogue ninja _without effort,_ "How old are they, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen didn't bat an eyelash, "The rookies' age."

Kurenai shut her eyes, inhaling audibly through her nostrils, "I see." Okay, so two kids no older than twelve were essentially significantly stronger than her. Okay. She was experienced. It wasn't like the idea of prodigies was particularly unheard of. Rare? Yes. Uncommon? Definitely. But not unknown. For goodness' sakes, the village had produced several of them who were all far more skilled and younger than her.

The only flaw in that logic were those prodigies came out the leaf's academy, _not_ bypassed ninja school entirely to enter the force with skills compatible to higher ranking Jounin plus combatants as if they were just born strong.

That was unheard of.

She had to breathe again.

"If I may," She requested again.

"Yes, you may," Hiruzen allowed.

"What made you consider putting… Trunks on my squad?" Kurenal asked, straining a little with the odd name.

"Ah." Hiruzen's elderly countenance lit up with that warm, grandfatherly glow, "A valid question. You see, both young Trunks and young Goten have the uncanny ability to sense anyone they have already come into contact with anywhere not limited by range." He laughed kindly at Kurenai's look of awe, "Considering your squad is the team of trackers and young Goten is already under Kakashi's care, I thought it best to leave young Trunks to you."

"I see," Kurenal assured, ducking her head appreciatively, "Well I'm certain the young man will certainly be of use to my team with such an extraordinary sensor ability. Thank you, Lord Third. I will be certain to care for Trunks."

Hiruzen smiled, joking lightly, "I am certain you will, dear, otherwise I would not have entrusted him to you."

Kurenal nodded and stood, folding the upper half of her body into a short bow, "If I may request the location of my new apprentice?" She smiled playfully, "I would like to test him."

"Certainly," He reached under his desk, pulling out a crystal-lensed round spherical orb he placed on the surface of his desk. Hovering his wizened palms over the crystal ball, the third Hokage encircled his hands around the orb as though he was a fortune teller, and the effects were near instantaneous. Part of the lens blackened before lightening up with static as if it was a television with bad reception. Much like a television, however, all it took was a simple twirl of Hirzen's hands to shift channels as the glow of the scene he was presented lit up his wide-eyed expression.

"Oh dear."

XxX

'Can't shake this vibe I got in my gut,' Trunks grimaced, a light breeze gently blowing in his annoyed visage in his leisured flight across Konoha. He didn't understand what he was so peeved about. He knew he was doing a good deed by setting Goten up with another friend, particularly a boy who was in dire need of a buddy to call his own, but every time he thought of them together doing the lame kid-stuff he and Goten would routinely do together it struck a chord in his heart.

"Darn it!" He screwed up his face even further, quickly prying open his eyes and near frantically searching for any distractions, "Need to blow off some steam." His eyes locked on to the first sighting that could be received as 'manly' and he dipped, gliding down smoothly to the macho-deemed hangout. Or, at least it wasn't for the faint of heart which was what Trunks was trying to avoid.

He dropped into a meadow just outside a metal fence barring entry to a desolate, pitch black forest shrouded by dead, rotten grey trees with bent lifeless branches and eerily stilled light black leaves that would not fall despite being long overdue for discharge from the expired roots of earth.

"Perfect!" Trunks remarked, not at all rustled in the slightest at the eerie ambience, smirking up a savage storm and flicking his nose with his thumb, "Can sense a bunch of nasty critters in that place to cut loose on." He pressed forward to enter the dark woods, heel snapping a lone lost twig without a care, but tensed without warning, eyes sharpening to the ferocious "whoosh" heading toward his blind spot.

He half turned, reacting with all the insane reflexes of an enhanced cat and flicked his arm up open at the palm, effortlessly catching hold of the speeding projectile looking to pierce him. He monitored the kunai knife in a slothful grip with a disappointed shake of the head, 'Figures 'ninjas' would use this stuff, but it's still pretty lame,' Being able to crush mountains with simple punches really had the negative effect of mitigating any purpose all kinds of weaponry could've had to the Z-warriors.

As far as Trunks was concerned if anyone was using weapons to fight with then they weren't even worth his mom's _human_ friends' time much less the Saiyans.

He almost instantly honed in on the Ki-signature out of sight behind a tree ahead of his positioning from where he had originally come from, "Hey, get your wussy butt out here! If you're gonna throw junk at me at least do it to my face like a man and _not_ hiding like a total wimp!"

He hoped to harshly poke at an sensitive ego with his call out of pride and got his wish. Ask and receive after all, "Well, well, well, not bad," Mockingly applauded a vicious feminine voice. From the same tree Trunks was piercing with his razor-edged glare emerged the bustiest woman he had ever seen, flaunting practically nothing but mesh body armour, a short sunset-orange skirt not even reaching her knees, leggings, typical Konoha headband, shinobi toed sandals and an open, lengthy beige coloured trench coat.

"You're pretty good, for a kid that is," The darker lavender-haired older woman quipped, sheathing her hands into her pockets.

"And you're kinda brave, for a girl that is," Trunks returned dismissively.

She frowned, "Watch it, kid," She asserted, making it sound more like a command than the suggestion it was supposed to be, animistic smirk hardening her framed face once more as she thumbed her posture of brimming confidence, "This 'girl' could hand you your ass six-ways to Sunday, so I'd lay off the shit talk if I were you, pal, unless you want to get schooled by yours truly."

Trunks scoffed, "Ptff. As if. I know midgets stronger than you. I could run circles around you all day, blindfolded, girly."

She scowled intently, shooting him a dangerous glare that would've made normal men triple his own size whimper, "What was that, twerp?!"

Trunks frowned in irritation, "You heard me, you old hag!" He retorted, mentally slugging her in the jaw at his show of defiance, "You're not on my level, so shoo!" He faced away from her, making his intentions known, "I'm already in a bad mood as it is, so unless _you_ wanna volunteer yourself as a punching bag so I can vent off some steam I would scram if I was you, lady."

She stood gaping in stunned, rage-induced disbelief to the sheer arrogance a kid who only came up to her waist at best had slammed her with. Her already short fuse had long since _blown_ up, completely destroying whatever little patience she had for an assumed upstart rookie who demonstrated surprising awareness and strength to counter her ambush. She was _livid,_ teeth a grit to such an extent they almost cracked as her clenched nails broke her skin.

"Oh, that's it!" She declared furiously, stopping Trunks' approach to the shrouded forest of darkness to look at her over his shoulder. She really wanted to knock that disinterested expression off his stupid face so much now, "I _was_ just going to ask you some questions," Maybe strong-arm him into buying her another tray of dingos to replace the one she dropped, "But you, kid!" She pointed, shaking her head, "You need to learn some proper respect for your superiors."

"Really?" He deadpanned, eliciting a growl and a nod from her. He sighed, facing her fully, "Well okay then." He slothfully rolled out his free arm in a circular motion, "Don't say I didn't warn ya. Oh, and just for the record, I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl."

"Well how sweet of you!" She spat sarcastically, a smirk spreading across her face. Slacking her stance sideways, the feisty kunoichi propped a hand on her curvy hip, "Really, I hope you don't go easy on me." She tipped him a flirty wink, "Wouldn't want you making excuses after I humble your arrogant ass."

Instead of retorting with a quip, Trunks lifted up her thrown-kunai, forcing her into a hasty stance. Expecting him to throw it, she was undoubtedly shaken up when his hand enclosed into a fist around the metal blade, completely shattering it into a myriad of sharp fragments that didn't even pierce his skin.

"What the-?" She gasped.

"Your move." Trunks said, no interest in his eyes.

She scowled, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek, "Little shit!" She dropped to a knee, extending her arm forward to her uninterested adversary, "Striking Shadow Snakes!" From up her sleeve emerged several snakes, extending from her in fiery speedy dashes as though they were rubber, reaching the boy across from her before easily being snagged out of the air in a firm vice-lock grip, "What the-?!"

"That all you got?" He taunted, still lacking interest as the snakes coughed in his choke hold.

She bit back her petrified shock of seeing perhaps her most recognizable jutsu effortlessly nullified by the boy she wanted to teach a lesson to and scowled with strained focus, "…Little turd," Her eyes shot open when she felt her feet sliding forward on their own accord, "No way…" That was all she could analyse of her losing tug of war battle before she was violently yanked across the field as if done magnetically. She knew the truth, though. The true was, a kid half her age had literally pulled her to him using her own jutsu with a simple flick of his wrist by _pure_ muscle strength alone.

'Kids should not be this strong,' She mused woozily, centre of gravity entirely taken away from her as strong winds hammered forcefully against her face, whipping her hair about. When the 'flying' woman caught sight of the freakishly, physically strong preteen rearing a fist back in preparation her heart spiked with fear, and her mind scrambled for counters, settling on the most rudimentary of them all.

She just honestly prayed he gave the chance to initiate it.

As the demi Saiyan's fist seemingly buried into the woman's stomach, driving her downward with enough sheer kinetic force to tunnel through numerous levels in the now very much formerly grass patch of earth, several huge crags protruded around Trunks' lowered posture of absolute lethal intent.

"No way," The lavender-haired beauty trembled in a crouched position from the safety of a tree no more than a couple of feet away from the high elevated stoned prison a mere punch had produced, former bravado now devoid from her shaking posture of petrified realization, "He…" She balked, grimaced. Had he been a friction of a second faster or her a bit slower on the tried-and-true switcheroo, he would have completely destroyed her with that earth shattering punch of cataclysmic destruction, 'Where the hell do kids learn Lady Tsunade's strength jutsu?'

Wait. Was he perhaps a student of the legendary sannin herself? It didn't seem likely to her admittedly. As terrifying as it sounded even to her own thoughts, she didn't feel any spike of his Chakra before he _bombed_ the ground with all the force of an atomic bomb. He just _punched_ it, like he _naturally_ had that kind of inhuman monstrous strength.

She shook her head, 'Just what the hell is this kid?'

"Get it now?" His voice floated through the debris, sounding as disinterested as it did before ruining the ground, "You're _not_ in my league, lady," He gestured to the destruction with a sweeping arm, "I could've finished you off with that one punch alone but I _let_ you dodge 'cause I didn't wanna get an ear full from the old man with the hat for hospitalizing one of his subordinates."

She twitched, grinning forcefully, "You're really full of yourself, you know that kid?"

Trunks deadpanned, "Um, no. I'm just telling you how it is."

"Ha!" She scoffed and stood, "Dream on, punk. You get one lucky shot on me, _which I evaded_ thank you _,_ and think you're head-and-shoulders better than me?" She tossed an imaginary bang of her hair over her shoulder, "Let me tell you, something kid. You may have freaky super strength, but you don't have the spee-. Huh?" She blinked owlishly when the boy flickered out of existence, exhaling heavily from a stabbing-like strike driven into her abdomen. Consciousness fading, the woman's eyes fluttered shut as her limp body fell to the side of Trunks, who had his elbow extended.

"Idiot." Trunks grimaced down at the stubborn unconsciousness woman, straightening from his speedy rush and dusting off his elbow. He turned, resuming his initial course of action before his humbling of a ballsy Kunoichi while commenting lightly to himself, "Man, Goten's brother really is a lame wimp. All he had to do was beat up that Videl-lady or whatever and she would've been off his back."

XxX

(Hokage's Office)

XxX

"Mercy," Kurenai breathed, still in amazement of the utter one-sided thrashing of a fairly high ranking soldier of the leaf, standing beside Hiruzen by his desk, "I haven't seen physical strength of that magnitude since Lady Tsunade of the Sannin."

Hiruzen frowned, "His speed is what most concerns me. It is far greater than that of my dearest Princess Tsunade." He pressed the tip of his hat over his eyes, "Good lord. I fear even I would have my doubts of whether I could track his movements if I were to watch a showing of his in the upcoming Chunin Exams, for example."

Kurenai's eyes widened at the implications, "Did…" She gulped lightly, "Did you not see his approach on Anko either?" She knew she couldn't, but that could be counted for. If the boy's power was fearsome enough that even _S-ranked_ missing nin couldn't defeat him then it was logical to assume he could most likely blitz her without effort.

"I could not." Hiruzen answered simply, frown deepening, "I saw as much as you, Kurenai. Dear Anko was gloating that his super strength was all he had and then he was beside her, elbow wedged in her midriff." He relit his pipe, inhaling in a much-needed soothing dose of tobacco, "If I were to liken his speed to a single shinobi of mine both present and prior, it would have to be Shisui of the Body Flicker."

Kurenal lost her breath, "Shisui of the Body Flicker…" An Uchiha so proficient at utilizing the seemingly ordinary shinobi jutsu he had it named after him and feared as if it was a rarity. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, a true _gem_ of the leaf's. Shame he perished at the hands of his former best friend, 'This boy,' She narrowed her eyes at the demi Saiyan on show wandering blithely through the forest of death, 'Could either be a great asset or a great danger to us all if not nurtured delicately.'

The Third Hokage seemed to be able to read her mind, flashing her a knowing smile, "It is truly a terrifying yet reassuring notion, is it not?" He chuckled, joking lightly, "Imagine, the love child of Princess Tsunade and Shisui of the Body Flicker? Preposterous." He held her grim stare solemnly, "I trust I needn't tell you young Trunks should be handled with a gentle, motherly touch if we are to install the Will of Fire within him."

So he would naturally be inclined to pledge his allegiance faithfully and eternally to the Leaf, boosting their considerable manpower with his tremendous strength. It went without saying that was what Hiruzen wanted. In a world where the balance of power could shift drastically with a ripple effect, any of the Five Kage continuously looked to boost their ranks to gain that fragile momentum. Hiruzen was no different.

"Yes, Lord Third. I understand," She dipped her head, "He may require much work though if his encounter with Anko is any indication. The boy has quite the attitude problem." And a lack of chivalry, which, as admiring as that was since treating women like fragile wallflowers in the ninja world could get a gentleman killed, was double the woes for Kurenai because it meant she would be unlikely to intimidate him with her tsundere fury.

Hiruzen laughed, amused by Trunks' immaturity. To him, it was just a case of 'boys will be boys,' "True though to be fair on young Trunks, dearest Anko did antagonize him first. Furthermore, if his vastly superior speed is any indication he could have destroyed Anko with that punch if he chose so. He was clearly only toying with her as a show of superiority, not with the intent to actually cause bodily harm upon her."

"Point made." She conceded with a nod, "Will that be all, Lord Third?"

Hiruzen made a shooing motion with a palm, "You may go, my dear, and please take care of Asuma."

"Of course." With that, she exited the office in a saunter, leaving Hiruzen basking in the good times to come as he looked at Goten's and Trunks' full names on the report on them by Kakashi.

"Son Goten and Trunks Briefs? Perhaps this notion of the Hidden Leaf Village being the strongest in the Elemental Nations is not so unwarranted now."


	5. A Saiyan's Kindness

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto. I do own a sweet-ass gaming keyboard, though. So yh.**

Review Shoutouts 

AdrienVictus: **I'm glad you enjoyed that line good sir, and thank you. I do try to keep the characters in-character, honest.**

Greer123: **You're welcome, man. Don't worry. We're getting to the Chunin Exams. A bit more set up first, though**.

Hawkcam1996: **You're evil, buddy :D I like it**.

Guest: **Thanks, man! I'm happy you're enjoying the story so far. I hope I can continue to entertain you. Heh-heh**.

Guest 2: **Ask and you shall receive, my good man. Rest assured, I don't plan on arbitrarily weakening Trunks and Goten's power. They will remain heads-and-shoulders above the Naruto cast as they should given that they're at least as strong as Frieza was in the Namek saga.**

Touzoshin: **Thank you. I'm having an absolute blast writing this fic. Trunks and Goten are a lot of fun to write for, partly because they're essentially "blank slates." Don't get me wrong. They have their established characters. Trunks is a cocky, spoiled kid since his family's rich and Goten is a happy-go-lucky, humble little guy. They don't end up with anyone. Granted, they're 8 and 7 in the series (12 and 11 here) so it would be weird as hell, but still. I can steer their characters anywhere I wish without feeling like I've done them wrong if I was writing for someone like say Goku and Gohan who both have set character arcs and girls waiting for them by the end it. And don't worry, I hate nerfing.**

Zfighter18: **You can expect the power levels to stay as they are my good man.**

joebob323: **Thank you. If I learnt anything from the brilliant One's awesome works, the amazing Mob Psycho 100 and One Punch Man, is that you can indeed have an overpowered main character (in this case main characters) and still manage to have an engaging story. You just have to focus on something other than action. For example, this story's going to be more of a character-driven story focusing on how the presence of two insanely powerful preteens stronger than all the nine tailed beasts put together influence the events of Naruto, because that's one thing that's always bugged me to no end about authors who nerf the DBZ cast to keep things "balanced." They use the excuse of, "Oh, if I don't nerf them they'll stomp (no shit) the verse and the fic will be boring" to lazily follow the canon proceedings. It's like, "what's the point introducing a new character into a certain point of the timeline - the Land of Waves arc in my case -** **if you're not going to take into account the effect his presence might have on the story's proceedings. For example, would Naruto still be overly obsessed about Sasuke if the Uchiha were to leave the village with someone like Gohan - for example - in his life? Doubt it. He would've bonded with Gohan and cared little for Sasuke other than that he needs to track him down and kill him so Orochimaru doesn't get his Sharingan and comes back to finish off Konoha, but that's my rant on those nerf'd main character stories.**

Prt 1: **You bring up a lot of good points I plan on addressing as I advance the plot. The other villagers won't sit idly by as Konoha nests two walking biju in human skin stronger than said biju themselves. The Chunin exams is coming up after all, and well, let's just say the "real" sand Kage might just be able to attend himself. "wink-wink." That goes without saying. The Naruto lore's been influenced already. Instead of Tazuna's bridge being named the "Great Naruto Bridge" like it is in canon, it gets named the "Eternal Pride Bridge" here due to Trunks' actions. As for pairings, hmm, I dunno. I'm considering TrunksxHinata because I'm fond of the whole opposites attract thing the two would have going in a relationship. She can keep him grounded too, portraying him as an asshole with a heart of gold. Trunks, to me, is the Ban Mido/Killua to Goten's Ginji/Gon (Did you know the main characters from Getbackers were inspired by Gon and Killua?) All I can say for sure is, there won't any canon/fanon pairing, fuck no. So no Naruhina or Sasusaku and especially NOT NaruSaku. I hate those ones. NaruHina and Sasusaku are the lesser of two evils to me because neither pairing has that "comedic" male bashing that NaruSaku has. I know it's a joke, but I can't stand it. It makes the female beating on the male look like a bitch needlessly and the male taking it a spineless lil bitch, so yeah. lol. I know DBZ has it too with Chichi and Bulma providing, but it's done a lot more tastefully in DBZ than it is in Naruto. Naruto just exaggerates the fuck out of it.**

Mcleanbryce7: **You'll love this chapter then. Uh... after the first scene of the aftermath of the Anko vs Trunks fight to flesh out Anko's character a bit more. What? I plan to treat the characters fairly, writing wise that is. No character will be needlessly bashed.**

* * *

A blurry, hazed gaze instinctively snapped shut in direct response to the bright light shining above it.

Groaning in frustration, a weary Anko levelled a palm over her eyes as a shield from the luminescence her eyes were unadjusted to.

"Stupid place to put a light," She grumbled to herself, ascertaining she was on a hospital bed by the stiffness of the thin blanket and rock-hard pillow her body and head laid on respectively. Just like a hospital to have the cheapest beds money could afford.

"Ah. I see you're awake."

The Jounin Specialist shot up like a dash at the unmistakeable grandfatherly voice resonating by her side, "Lord Hokage?" She said, eyes widening as she swung her shapely legs over the bed side. She felt herself relaxed at his familiar warm smile. He had always treated her, and all his subordinates for that matter, kindly, even when she was left stranded by the only man she, tragically, could call a father-figured abandoned her after branding her with his hickey mark of overwhelming pain.

"Why am I here?" She asked.

"Oh?" Hiruzen playfully toyed with the answer, one arm draped behind his back, "I thought it best to have medical nin bring you here for a quick diagnosis to assure you didn't suffer any concessions from your scuffle with young Trunks." Anko's cringe aroused a good-natured chuckle from the elderly leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Yeah, sorry about that." For fuck's sakes, what the hell was she thinking picking fights with kids that couldn't have been no higher than Genin – otherwise she would've heard of him beforehand? Oh, right. She wasn't thinking. Anko Mitarashi was an impulsive girl at heart. "Move first, think later" was her dogma, only this time she let her impulsive nature get the better of her. As it was implied, she did not plan on coming to blows with the inhumanly powerful kid. She followed him merely out of intrigue from seeing him and his companion utilizing a jutsu documented to have been used by only one specific clan, and they weren't in the Land of Fire.

Watching him about to enter the Forest of Death, which was known as her grounds of play, pushed her buttons, but even then at most she was only going to throw her weight around to let the kid know stepping into her turf would likely get him killed, and, as previously stated, coerce him into buying her another tray of dingo to replace the one she dropped.

Anko wasn't malicious, mostly just brash with a twisted sense of humour.

Getting beaten down by him certainly wasn't on the cards.

"So, what have you learnt from today's events in regard to young Trunks?" Hiruzen said, asking for her earnest opinion free of any bias derived from her own feelings of the hostility shared between her and Trunks.

Anko sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Kid's good, Lord Hokage." That was an understatement. He had absolutely overpowered her without even breaking a sweat, "Really fucking good," She clarified with a soured expression, "I hate to say it, but he could probably be the Fifth Hokage in a few years," She scowled, remembering Trunks' arrogance, "If he gets an attitude adjustment."

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, I assumed as much myself." He reached downward, intertwining a warm hand on his grand-daughterly subordinate's, getting her to loosen up from his caring caresses, "Thank you for validating as such, dearest Anko. I must go now. Do not fret. I shall be having words with young Trunks later to let him know he ought not manhandle his leaf comrades. The boy may very well be my second successor, assuming all goes well. His potential is most frightening, and at the same time reassuring now that he is under the care of the Leaf."

"Right," She said breathlessly under Hiruzen's loving touch, offering him a tender smile, "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen smiled, releasing her hand before turning from her, "I shall inform the nurses you have regained consciousness. You may go went you are ready."

It was then Anko's mind caught up, reminding her of the exact dangerous location she had her fated encounter with the leaf's potential future Hokage. "Wait Lord Hokage! I think the little turd wandered off into the Forest of Death. I know he want him to succeed you like Lord Fourth before him, but he won't be able to do that if he gets himself killed off by those nasty critters crawling around in that place! I think you should send ANBU to retrieve him."

Hiruzen smirked knowingly over his shoulder at her, "That "little turd" as you called him, has been running through a gauntlet of those very terrifying beasts, proceeding to decimate a huge portion of the forest in the process."

Anko shuddered.

"No way."

Hiruzen sobered, gazing ahead of himself grimly.

"Indeed. The boy contains far more power than his short structure lets on."

Anko clenched her fists in her lap.

"You're telling me."

She was humbled by him after all.

* * *

 **New Kids on the Block**

* * *

"You mean I'll never be able to fly," Naruto looked to be on the verge of tears, bottom lip quivering out.

He tried for as long as he could to prolong the inevitable truth, consequently avoiding the potential fallout from his not-so-blatant lie, but as soon as they arrived to their designated location to throw down and sweat like there was no tomorrow, that being a wide open grassy clearance with bountiful trees and a fresh pool of spring water befitting of the Land of Fire suitably dubbed "training field," of some number the airheaded boys didn't care to remember, well, the lie was bound to come out.

"Heh-heh." Goten had the decency to look bashful, "I didn't say you couldn't…" He shrunk at Naruto's wide, hopeful smile recurring before finishing in a tiny voice, "Just not from me."

Naruto's face fell, "What?" He moaned, "But you promised!"

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Di-." Goten throwing out his palm in a halting gesture gave the blond pause, "What?"

Goten pushed his index fingers together, "I didn't make a pinkie promise."

…

…

…

Naruto just stared, twirling eyes of deadpanned emphasis growing when Goten just rubbed the back of his head with a shrug, "Damn it…" He exhaled, arms and posture drooping in a deflated fashion, "I thought I had a one up on Sasuke-bastard too," Imaginary tears rained from his eyes of his comical expression of despondency, "Sakura would've been all over me…!"

Goten looked down, sounding like a kicked puppy, "Sorry."

There wasn't a stubborn resistance in the world that Naruto knew of that could hold up against that kind of genuinely self-hurt tone, "Aw, it's fine." He waved it off, straightening. A fiery sparkle flickered in his crystalline blue eyes, "It's not your fault." The sparks flared, erupting into flames of fiery self-assurance as he pumped a fist out, "It's the _jerks_ who made this Chakra and Ki-stuff so darned complicated."

When he had been told tapping into Goten's source of latent energy was a key component of mastering the Lighter than Air technique he'd initially hoped Chakra was compatible enough to Ki so he could get the technique down. Sadly, Goten wasn't smart enough to provide an in-depth explanation of Ki, and knew far too little of Chakra to really say for sure whether they were well-matched or completely alien like foreign languages.

Unfortunately, on Naruto's part, the little Goten knew of Chakra from the Third Hokage was _still more_ than the blond Jinchuuriki knew of his own latent power. To his embarrassment, he did admit he skipped out on the essential in-depth Chakra lessons provided by Iruka when he was in the academy, his short attention span finding them far too boring to keep him active throughout the lecture. So Goten provided the very basic, bare-boned description of Ki and Chakra.

Ki was life force.

Chakra was a combination of physical and spiritual energies, both body and mind respectively.

Of course, this simple description was severely downplaying the intricacies of both forms of latent power, but Goten was just too simple-minded in nature to really deconstruct each, detailing their complexities. Thankfully Naruto had already seen just a little bit of the luxuries Ki granted the user. Beside from flying, that energy shield the demi Saiyans shrouded themselves in during the mission to the Land of Waves _was_ next on his list to learn.

Such an amazing, easily activated 'technique' devoid of the bane of Naruto's existence, _hand-signs_ added to his small repertoire of abilities and tricks would've went a long way on the Jinchuuriki's path to self-betterment.

Which was why it was so gut-wrenchingly crushing to discover there was little chance of him ever being capable of tapping into his latent life energy to bask in the hand-sign-free glow of his power armouring his entire body.

"Man…" He kicked a lone pebble loosely, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "This sucks. How did you tap into this Ki-stuff?"

"Hmm." Goten hummed, pensively folding his arms and bottom lip protruding out. That was a good question. How did he awaken his latent energy? It required next to no effort so there wasn't an incentive to salvage any significant, nostalgia-worthy memories of his first day playing with his latent energy the way other, far less talented individuals might who literally bleed for their progress. Since learning new gimmicks and abilities came as arbitrary as watching Television for Goten, there was no need to hold on to their memories.

Somehow, he did so, though.

"Oh, I remember! I was playing with Trunks in the woods and just fired a Ki-blast at him." As spontaneously as he turned Super Saiyan sparring against his mom.

His heart tightened, like it was grabbed by a super powered bear's paw, at the thought of her.

Naruto's mind only registered the natural ease of which Goten implied he unlocked his Ki if he could spontaneously discover it in something as mundane as playing, "Great, so you're a genius like Sasuke-bastard," He moaned, comical tears hanging from his eyes like ping-pong balls, eliciting a sheepish chuckle from Goten. "Wait." His mind processed the rest of Goten's succinct explanation, eyes blinking with confusion, "Playing… Ki-blast… Gah!" He clawed through his hair, "What the heck's a Ki-blast? And why the heck were you firing blasts at Trunks if you were playing?"

"Oh!" Goten realized his mistake, "We were play fighting."

The overzealousness of Naruto's frantic posture abated, leaving his countenance awkwardly sweat-ridden, "Well I would hate to see what a play fight looks like from you guys," He quipped, drawing a content small smile from the boy, "Oh yeah," He recovered from his stupor, "What's a Ki-blast?"

That was simple to explain, mostly because he could explain it with action and not words.

The demi Saiyan scanned their environment, ignoring the obvious wide open, devoid of potential collateral damage-free space of cool liquid, and extended a palm over to the crowded trees vacant of nearby life. "This." He answered, and the ease of which he materialized a spherical orb over his palm emitting the sounds of a humming halo reflected the neutrality of his tone.

Naruto watched, utterly amazed and pried of breath as his friend literally launched the coolest-looking jutsu he had ever laid eyes on, though said eyes were at risk of popping right out of his sockets when the sunshine orb collided with its targets, swallowing a grand total of five trees and a decent portion of healthy bushes in an explosive detonation.

"Whoaaaaaaaa," Naruto's mouth hung wide open as if offering an extended invitation for flies as the raging, flowing flames accentuated the sheer awe in his crystalline eyes, "That's awesome!~" Although, the reminder of Ki's simplistic utilization and impressive dexterity devoid of complex hand-signs returned the rain cloud of comical depression over Naruto, forcing him to a squat as he doodled his finger timidly on the grass, "…And I'll never be able to do it."

Goten blinked, tipping his head to the side, 'That was awesome?' The lack of empathy he had for Naruto's high impression for the most basic manipulation of Ki gave him a better understanding of the day and night difference between Ki and Chakra. They couldn't have been further apart if simple utilizations of Ki were demonstrations worthy of awe.

They were clearly on opposite ends of the highway.

The Third Hokage was partly correct in his assessment of Ki. It did offer the user far more freedom in what they were capable of, manipulation-wise. Without even deriving a technique from Ki, a user could coat their body in a shroud as proven by Gotenks and Trunks against Zabuza and at Tazuna's respectively, and even conjuring a solid orb of concentrated energy equal to S-ranked ninjutsu.

To derive techniques equivalent to the ones Ki users flaunted so effortlessly that they were generic and nameless would cost Chakra users weeks, months and even _years_ off their lives to create.

Naruto looked up, momentarily flickering out of his mock emo-lamentation of grief at the gentle tap of his shoulder to see Goten's comforting, cheery grin, "Wanna play?" Because it was the only way he knew how to distract the whiskered cheeked boy from his near depressive realizing thoughts of the blocked easy path to incredible techniques.

And it worked, following the instant light up of Naruto's face as though it was a Christmas tree, "Yeah-!" Or it would have if his friend hadn't almost immediately shifted to the side in a speedy slick turn of inhuman reflexes upon catching wind of an unmistakeable "whoosh" zooming toward them, snatching that "something" out of the air in a firm grip, "Eh!"

He looked at Goten's bland, slightly serious expression with a tilted head, before tracing his extended arm to the clenched hand which now bared a kunai in its grasp. Eyebrow quirking further, Naruto continued his following of the imaginary line set by his friend's extended arm to find a bun-styled haired girl opposite to them a fair distance away gaping bizarrely in their direction.

"Uh, if you're gonna fight me, can you not throw stuff at me from behind?" Goten just asked, literally in every sense of the word, in a tone devoid of sarcasm or even annoyance that would've classified his genuine question as a ridiculing one. The girl even furrowed her brow in thought, clearly not expecting such an earnest response free of even the slightest amount of irritation from a sneak attack.

"Yeah!" Besides, the introvert youngster had his decidedly outspoken buddy for that as Naruto crossed his arms, pouting with squinted eyes, "What's the big idea attacking us from behind? Coward!" He spat disdainfully, giving the girl plenty of ammunition to laugh for the rest of the day and the night ahead, though she didn't.

Did the cat-faced kid realize what their occupation was? She assumed he should going off his leaf headband tied around his forehead. Deception and trying to get the drop on their enemies were the names of their games. Such notions like honour had no place on the battlefield of shinobi.

Leave that schtick to the samurai.

"Okay," She recovered from her initial shock of the deceptively skilled kid and his honour-bound pal, not commenting on the latter. If he wanted to play samurai in a field of ninja then that was his funeral, not hers, "I'll admit you're pretty good," She said to the wild-haired boy, eliciting a dumbfounded blink from him. She had to fight down the urge to smirk at the show of modesty.

It was reassuring to see not every talented prodigious preteen had a bighead from their own swelled up ego, especially since the leaf headband belted on his waist made him an indirect comrade of hers. Someone keeping a cool head on their shoulders despite nullifying their opponent's attacks was a good trait in her book.

But even still, "That doesn't excuse you from trying to blow up the training field!" She exaggerated, curling a wrist to her slender, pink-clad sleeveless Chinese top clad waist as realization flashed in their eyes. She took this chance to bridge the gap between them, eyeing the Super Saiyan with a scolding look, "What were you thinking?"

Goten hastily rubbed the back of his head, bashful, drawing another smirk from the bun-haired girl, "Woops."

"What's the big deal?" Naruto asked, hands intertwined atop his spiky head in frowning disinterest, ignoring the girl's disgusted look, "He was only showing me how this Ki-stuff worked."

"Wait, Ki!?" She cringed, eyeing him askance. She completely forgot all about the boy using the forestry segment of the training field for his demonstration of his explosive jutsu and NOT the obvious damage-free water at that piece of shocking information, "You use your lifeforce?" She couldn't believe she saw him nod in clarification, "Are you nuts?"

"No."

"Then why are you tapping into your lifeforce? That stuff will kill you, you know?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-nuh!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-nuh!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-nuh!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-nuh!"

Naruto looked between them rapidly, shifting from each with each simplified verb of 'No' and 'Yes' uttered respectively, turning his head from each so fast it looked like he grew multiple heads, "Gah!" He rummaged through his golden locks, "My head hurts! Which one of you is right already!"

Goten wasn't one to definitively declare himself as right, but even still, he needed to get his point across that he wasn't going to die from Ki-exhaustion, "Um, I've been using Ki for ages," He argued, raising a finger.

That gave her pause, "How?"

Tilting his head back to the sky, Goten cupped his chin, "Hm. I don't use Chakra." He shrugged at her stunned look. "Maybe that's why?"

"Uh…" She was drawing a blank now, "I guess."

"Um, I don't get it," Naruto admitted, squinted eyed, "What's so dangerous about Ki?"

She sighed, placing her hands on her wide hips, "Because, if you exhaust all your life energy, you'll die," She paid Naruto's wide-eyed horrified look of recognition a passing glance of approval before shifting glances to the Ki-user, "At least, that's what I learned from my time in the academy in relation to just about anyone who has Chakra, which should be pretty much everyone." She sassed, and shook her head, studying the apparent non Chakra-user askance. "If you exhaust all your Chakra right before you die from Chakra consumption you can draw out your latent lifeforce for one final push to take your enemy down with you, suicide-style."

"Well, I've never heard of this trump card thing when I was in the academy, believe it."

"But you told me you didn't pay attention to the boring-stuff."

"Oh right!"

The bun-haired girl, showing either impeccable tolerance or effectively invisible lenses to block out all things stupid, ignored Naruto's rampant stupidity, "Right," She said, dismissing the argument on the grounds of not having a base to root her argument other than what she was informed during her early ninja training, and that didn't apply to someone who potentially didn't have a Chakra network and relied solely on his lifeforce to get by.

A sunny smile worked its way across her lips, "I don't think we hit it off on the right foot." Her grin brightened, though held a distinctive, sassy spark about it as she extended a hand in greeting, "How about we start over, shall we, boys?"

This time it was Naruto's turn to consider her askance, "This isn't some trick, is it?"

"Whoa. So suspicious," She rolled her eyes, "We're from the same village, you know? Do you really think I would trick a fellow leaf comrade? Geez, I just want to bury the hatches and start off right, okay?" In return, Naruto observed her harder, one eye squinting and bottom lip jutting out, making her roll her eyes once more.

"I don't mind," Goten readily accepted her hand, beaming brightly, "You're nice."

She smiled at the shorter boy's sweet-tempered deposition as they lightly shook soft hands before letting go, "Thank you!" She beamed back, smirking at his sulking companion, "I'm glad one of you isn't paranoid." Naruto sulkily crossed his arms, turning away from the girl. "Name's Tenten by the way."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot. My name's Son Goten." He greeted, his openly friendly and airheaded nature amused Tenten in an endearing fashion as she humoured him with a good-natured giggle.

"You didn't forget," The bun-haired girl insisted, half-jokingly, eliciting a contagiously cheery grin from the boy. Oh, Tenten knew she was going to love Son Goten. Not in a romantic way. (She would much rather focus on the ninja arts than on boys) But in a sisterly way. He was so adorable she just wanted to dote on him right there and then.

"And your friend?" Tenten asked, mischief rolling around in her grey eyes directed to Naruto's still pouting posture.

"Naruto Uzumaki," He provided in a mumble.

"Huh? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Tenten replied, playing dumb.

"I said my name's Naruto Uzumaki!" He roared back immediately, surprising Tenten at the sudden ferocity, "And someday, I'll be Hokage. Then people like you will HAVE to look up and respect me, so you better believe it!" He huffed, receiving pacifying pats on his shoulder from Goten.

"Well, that escalated quickly," Tenten stated dryly. A smile of feigned innocence crossed her lips in response to Naruto's heated glare, "Easy, tiger." She teased, prompting him to swift away from her again, though she was fine with that. She favoured the friendlier, skilled blond of the two with an all too familiar glint of spurred excitement that his Saiyan blood recognized, "So, Goten!"

He returned her eagerness with childlike curiosity, "Um."

"Wanna spar?"

The luminescence of his eyes were comparable to stars, "Sure!"

"Yes!" She crowed, clenching her fists inwards, "I'm psyched to see how strong you really are after stopping my kunai like that," Goten blinked, suddenly remembering the kunai he still held. With a flushed smile, he deposited it in her hand, getting a playful smile from her which hardened into a smirk afterward, "Don't think I'll go easy on you, Mr Gentleman." She sassed, twirling the kunai around on her finger while propping her free hand on her hip; the perfect portrait of playful confidence.

Goten returned her smirk with an eager smile of his own, "Yeah, I'm gonna try too."

"Goten is gonna kick your butt," Naruto taunted, filling the role of arrogance in place of his friend's humble demeanour, stinging Tenten's pride.

"Well, we'll just see about that, won't we?" She replied heatedly, frowning in irritation.

"You will," Naruto chirped contently, souring the girl's expression and decidedly contrasting the kunoichi's impression on Goten.

While she had no doubt in her mind she would love Goten due to how modest and laid-back he was despite his evident skills, she was almost certain she would end up hating his friend. He was too mouthy for her tastes.

She resisted the nagging temptation to engage the mouthy cat-faced boy in witty banter in favour of walking a good distance from him across from Goten who mimicked her movements before backing up so they each had a nice healthy gap between them as Naruto played the role of hollering cheerleader, thoroughly embarrassing Goten with his chants and annoying Tenten.

The seconds ticked by with Tenten's scowl increasing and clenched fist raising against the continuation of Naruto's loud chants, "Would you cut that out!?" She demanded.

"Never!"

She sighed, facing her opponent who was just overcoming his embarrassment of his friend's cheerleader play for him. "Ready when you are, Goten." He nodded, dipping into a humble bow of respect before flashing her a confident smile of his by way of courtesy.

A cool, lone breeze passed by, bending the strands of grass as the two combatants faced off, staring the other down from across the plain field in a tense, stilled moment reminiscent of an old west shoot out.

Even Naruto's chants died in respect of the warriors' preparation phase.

'Alright,' Tenten mused, observing Goten's slacked, almost lazy posture with an appraising eye, 'He's not rushing in, so he's not an idiot. Guess he's waiting for me to make the first move. What a gentleman.' She quipped, brandishing another kunai from her pouch, 'Alright, that's fine. I'll oblige.' She flicked, sending her knives cannoning toward her opposition with all the power of a high powered crossbow, shrouding said kunai knifes in visible air pressure from the mere force of her seemingly casual throw, 'Let's see you catch two.'

They seemingly dematerialized the very instance they came within arm's reach of their target, "Huh!?" Tenten articulated, jaw dropping when the boy calmly flashed her the very kunai knifes she had sent hurtling his way, 'No way. I put almost everything I had into that throw.'

"Hey, can you be serious?" Goten asked, in that same sincere bland tone that originally threw Tenten for a loop when he countered her sneak attack.

Even if he wasn't taunting her, being asked to be serious when she knew she was being semi-serious still annoyed her, "You…" She pouted in annoyance, reaching back into the realm of her pouch, "Fine. You want serious? I'll show you serious." She fished out a scroll, unfurling it with both hands to reveal a unique kanji marking painted into the centre before a cloud of fluffy white smoke erupted in its place, quickly wafting around the materialization of a spear now in Tenten's hands.

"Oh, it's like a capsule." Goten realized.

Tenten eyed him funnily, "What are you talking about? What's a capsule?"

Goten crossed his arms, "Hmmm. They're like those scroll-things, except they're small."

"Right." She said sarcastically, rushing the boy, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. Flexing her finger muscles, the spear woman continuously twirled her weapon around in numerous three sixty spins like a propeller before stiffening in her stance, proceeding to strike with a sideways half turn aimed at the head, not deterred when her athletic opponent jumped over her attack, hanging in the air with his knees pressed against his chest.

She rolled with the momentum, facing away from the airborne hopper and gracefully lifted a knee, tilting her upper body back for a backward reverse lunging strike, frowning slightly from the light landing directly on her extended spear. She repositioned herself in a roll of the body, aggressively batting out her spear like airing out laundry, forcing Goten to flip nimbly away from it, only to reflexively ghost to the side on the balls of his heels in evasion of the spear crashing toward him. And the forward momentum of the tenacious warrior girl didn't let up.

She proceeded to unleash a flurry of complex arcs, each time missing her opponent by a strand of his ridiculous volcano-styled hair. Sweat began to coat her forehead and her lips twisted into a grimace from yet another missed attack. No matter which angle she came from, the boy was always able to dodge. She turned, twisted, and even cartwheeled her spear in her fingers, but every time he evaded with the utmost casual of steps and flips.

His movements were flowing like a calm river. He never failed to miss a beat and never once looked close to stumbling over his own feet in his evasion of her near relentless onslaught, even when he demonstrated perfect balance to maintain a steady crouched posture on the tip of her spear.

She could tell who had ever trained him must've been an excellent Taijutsu master.

'Damn it! Why can't I hit him?' Tenten scowled, stiffening up under the gentle tap on the back of her neck. She blinked, mouth hanging open – her opponent no longer before her. She relaxed, straightening from her attack on the boy and turned, finding the Super Saiyan grinning bashfully at her from behind, 'He got behind me! When? How? I had my sights on him the whole time!'

"Woohoo!" Naruto chanted, renewing Tenten's fury, "Told ya Goten was going to kick your ass!"

She smirked at her opponent, "It's not over yet, Goten."

He recovered from his shell of modesty to grin confidently, "Yeah, I'm not ready to quit either."

"Flattened," Tenten quipped in appreciation of his courtesy. He had been completely dictating the pace of their fight thus far and still he refrained from gloating the fact in her face. That was a down to earth spirit if she ever saw one.

With a leap, Tenten distanced herself from her kind opponent and rummaged within her pouch once more, this time emerging with two scrolls she unfurled on the ground in front of her, crouched, "Try this on for size!" She made a quick hand-sign – the warm feel of her chakra circulating rapidly around her circulatory system – before picking up both scrolls, crossing her arms in an "X" formation. Two streams of puffy white smoke accompanied her sky high rocket-like ascendency to the clouds as she soared, the long pages of her scrolls trailing her flight and framing her airborne, graceful posture.

"Whoa." Naruto murmured breathlessly.

"Twin Rising Dragons!" She danced beautifully like a ballerina in the sky, releasing the hell storm of a whirlwind fury.

Weaponry of all kinds and shapes were released from the scrolls in a fierce gale storm blizzard of sharp, splintery annihilation, _hurled_ downward in powerful vacuum twisters of wind as though the scrolls contained a fraction of a wind god's power. Weapons, kunai knifes, spears, axes, hammers, chainsaws and the like, were no more but mere scrambling blurs similar to the way clothes were unidentifiable in a washing machine as they ripped through the air on the way to their target.

"Holy crap!" Naruto yelled, squeezing his cheeks inward at the display of such raw control of a myriad of weapons. He couldn't fear for his friend's safety. He didn't get the time. At the same time he had exclaimed his vast shock of Tenten's power the twin hurricanes of weaponry were already looking to penetrate his buddy's private space. In response to the onrushing attacks, Goten extended his palm, and, as though he was a psychic, released an incredibly powerful repulsion wave of sheer windy force.

"Kiai!" A forceful exhale gave birth to a crescent moon-shaped concessive force of visible air pressure that repelled the oncoming tornado twisters so forcefully all the trapped weapons _scattered_ like droplets of rain, fortunately for Tenten. Otherwise she would have been on the end of her own barrage of swiss cheese making projectiles. As it stood though, only the force of generated air pressure ploughed into her, knocking her off momentum and sending her falling helplessly.

"What the-?" She gasped, almost horrified witnessing her best technique be countered so easily, 'He's a wind-type!' Great. She challenged the bane of her existence; a wind manipulator. If she knew that beforehand, she probably wouldn't have opted to spar against him. Marksmen and markswomen were naturally weak against those who could just blow away all their long-ranged specialized weaponry.

She braced herself for the fall. There was no way she could land safely. That one attack had thrown her off her momentum. Suddenly, she felt a pair of soft arms snake itself around her legs and head, pressing her against a muscled chest, "Huh?" She blinked up in a daze, her still hazed mind mistaking the small, bashful grin for a charmingly polite smile of a regal prince, "Uh…"

" _Are you unharmed, milady?"_ Dream Goten asked with all the proper eloquence of a high class young man.

"W-What?"

"Whoa. Are you okay, Miss Tenten? I'm so sorry! I didn't think you would go flying like that! Guess I don't know my own strength, huh?" The actual Goten awkwardly fussed over her, fumbling over his words to stress his non-lethal entirely accidental intentions, finishing with his family signature grin.

"Uh…" She was still a little overwhelmed from seeing two entirely different perspectives of the boy produced from her own dazed perception, "Sure, I'm fine, Goten, but-." Her brain registered their current motions of a gentle descent as if not to aggravate any injuries she may have sustained from the wave of invisible kinetic force, forcefully snapping her back to reality like an elastic band, "Wait!" She asked, eyes bulging when she looked over Goten's arm at the ground they were distinctly approaching, "Are you flying!?"

Goten blinked, remembering after a second or two that the Lighter than Air technique was not common in the ninja world and smiled shyly, nodding a little, "Uh-huh."

Tenten gaped and maintained it until she and Goten landed and the boy set her on her own feet, "I really didn't stand a chance, did I?" She asked, features drying.

He smiled dopily, "Um. I don't know!~"

"Right." She smirked, appreciative of his self-effacing demeanour, curling the backside of her wrists to her hips, "You really are strong," A pink tinge lit up his cheeks at the praise, "Aw, you're such a precious little guy," She pinched his blushing cheek teasingly, making him shrink back in his shell of winsome shyness further.

Naruto watched Tenten's affection of his decided girl-magnet friend with envious eyes, an imaginary rain cloud forming over his head, "Man, first Sakura, now this Tenten-girl…" He slumped, "Why does he get all the girls and I can't even get Sakura?" The sounds of running feet made him jump, "Ah!" He felt visibly spooked by a passing gale of wind rustling his hair and clothes, "What the heck was that?"

Tenten identified a moving blur a shade of darker green standing out amongst the lighter ones of the littered grass heading toward Goten's blind spot, "Lee! You better not-!"

Too late. "Lee" had already found his way to a surprisingly reactive Goten despite the faster than the normal human eye could see movements and delivered a jumping, spinning roundhouse kick coated in visible circular waves of air momentum to the arm Goten had horizontally held up in response to the incoming attack, causing the ground to vibrate and the grass to bend to a curve from the mere ferocity behind the kick.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Time itself froze to an absolute standstill for the dumbfounded trio of Naruto, Tenten and the new arrival of Lee. For Naruto, he was fossilized in astonishment to the weirdest-looking kid he had ever saw just randomly appearing out of nowhere beside his friend in an obviously failed ambush. And for Tenten and her associate, they were shocked the blond-haired kid could so casually, without even the slightest strain on his part, withstand such an atomic kick.

"Um." Goten said unsurely to the green spandex-clad teen basically glued to his arm, "Hi…?"

'No way,' Tenten gaped, 'He…' She paused, frantically rubbing at her eyes in a near desperate bid to wipe whatever possible dust of trickery might have gotten into them and gawked once more at the same scene of her companion's kick halted physically, 'He _blocked_ Lee's kick!' That was insane for many reasons. _Nobody physically_ stops a punch or a kick from her sensei and his clone of Lee. _Nobody._ Tenten didn't care if that someone was Tsunade of the Sannin. They weren't blocking a kick from the eccentric workhorses of physical athleticism.

They would still rebound, naturally. (That was why they were elites after all) But they would still be staggered if they were caught slipping by any physical attack from the Taijutsu-specialists.

Nobody was _that_ physically powerful that they could just block kicks of the wall-destroying magnitude.

She realized in that moment of Lee cautiously dropping from his failed ambush just how much Goten instinctively was holding back his strength on her so she wouldn't feel undermined.

'He really is a kind guy,' She concluded, eyeing him regretfully.

"You are truly impressive," Lee complimented after what felt like an eternity passed, onyx gaze solemn.

Goten blinked, eyeing the bowl cut haired boy's leaf headband also belted on his own waist like his, "Um. Thank you," He said, awkwardly.

Lee immediately dropped into a stance, right hand extending forward bent at the elbow and open at the palm, "I wish to challenge you. Do you accept?"

"Lee!" Tenten tried, struggling for words at the moment.

"I am truly sorry, Tenten," Lee said, speaking formally, "But seeing my Leaf Hurricane easily blocked by physical might has ignited the flames of my youth." She cringed, groaning in irritation at the twin flames of burning passionate blazing in his onyx pools. "I have been overcome with the desire to test my flames of youth against his! Good sir, do you accept this humble challenge?"

"Okay," Goten smiled, "You're nice."

"Splendid! You are a most generous fellow yourself, and I, Rock Lee, the leaf village's handsome devil, cannot thank you enough for accepting this humble challenge of mine." He incited, earning a warm giggle from the Super Saiyan. Lee reminded him a lot of his older brother when the eldest Son sibling was going through his Great Saiyaman phrase and that was always a good note in his book, "Come! Let us clash with the power of youth!"

"Yeah!" Goten chanted in kind, losing that very excitement the moment Lee charged him with a straight jab which he caught easily, "Hey, quick fooling around." He said blandly.

The hand to hand specialist of eccentricity stared, brow knitting in grim curiosity. Strange. He could sense none of the conceit and condescension he had grew pretty much _unaccustomed_ to since developing his Taijutsu skills to such ludicrous levels to where his frontal thrusts were comparable to B and even few A ranked ninjutsu, 'Interesting.' He mused, solemn gaze searching Goten's face for any hint of deceit, only seeing earnest curiosity, 'He does not seem to be provoking me with jibes at my skill despite catching my punch, but rather, he looks to assume the best; that being I am holding back my strength for his sake.' A deep seeded twinge of admiration for his opponent settled itself in his stomach.

"Very well," Lee acknowledged, tone serious. He straightened, taking careful steps from his opponent, "It is full power you desire, no? Accepted. Full power will be what you shall receive."

That eager grin of his, thirsty for an appetizing duel to sate his insatiable thirst for battle, returned to his face, "Yeah, I won't go easy on you either."

Lee nodded, grimly, dropping to a knee before placing his palms on one of his orange leg warmers.

Tenten looked between the two battle-hungry combatants with an entirely slumped expression before shrugging, making her way over to the decided "cheerleader" row she and Goten had initially left Naruto standing at, "Those two," She sighed, fondly acknowledging Lee's insatiable desire to prove himself against worthy opponents and Goten's inspiring humility and consideration of his adversary's feelings.

"Hey," She looked at Naruto's unnerved face oddly, tracing his finger over to the green spandex clad Taijutsu extraordinaire, "Is he… like," His face scrunched, "Alright?"

Tenten giggled, glancing over back to her associate with amusement sparkling in her eyes, "Oh, he's always like that." She laughed lightly when Naruto yelped in horror, "Just let him work it out of his system."

Naruto paled, petrified expression of comicality saying it all. He worked out from the implications that the bun-haired girl was either on the same squad or spent a significant amount of time with the guy with the bushiest eyebrows ever to become accustomed to his antics, "Man, must be rough working with a guy like that huh?"

Tenten favoured him with a giggle, "He isn't so bad when you get used to him." She erupted into a series of giggles from Naruto's purposely overly exaggerated squinted eyed askance look. There was a certain charm to his clown-like antics.

"You don't say," He quipped dryly.

"Uh-huh!" She insisted with a chipper tone before extending a hand, looking to deflect the conversation, "Naruto, was it?" She offered him a dry smile. "We really didn't hit it off, did we? After the whole 'being at each other's throats thing' huh? What's say we amend that, shall we?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, abashed, acknowledging his unusual hostility toward her, "Yeah, sorry about that. It's just," He fumbled for words, face twisting in grimacing confusion, "Aw, never mind!" How could he say he was unaccustomed to receiving gestures of friendship? He only empathized so easily with Goten because they were so alike in all the right ways, though similarly to Trunks, Naruto, too, subconsciously barricaded himself from his more fragile emotions.

"It's cool," Tenten smirked when the boy finally accepted her hand, "Cool?"

"Cool."

Their moment of silent empathy came to a halting end from the incredibly earth-shaking roars of what Naruto could only assume was a voluminous boulder crashing down upon mother earth full force, frightening the living daylights out of him.

"Holy crap!" He exclaimed. The force of the heavy impacts had been enough to raise two cloud of debris, which was what Naruto was gawking bulged eyed at, "What the heck are those?"

Tenten sighed, "Lee took off his weights."

Naruto gaped at her, "He wears those things? No way! He's crazy."

"You're preaching to the choir, remember?" Tenten quipped back dryly. She returned her attention to the two fighters facing off for round two, expression sobering in anticipation, "Can't say I'm surprised, though. Goten is tough, like really tough, to be able to block a kick from Lee of all people like it's nothing."

"Uh-huh." Naruto vaguely listened to her, mind still processing the boggling revelation the crazy kid literally carried weights equivalent to heavy stones to cause such an impact to the ground, "Well, yeah. Goten is pretty badass."

"Mmm-hmm. So is Lee so we might be here awhile."

The "fight" expired way shorter than Tenten had expected, leaving her gaping like a fish out of water. After Lee had scampered forward, moving so quickly he dematerialized to Naruto's wide eyes, he launched a barrage of fast and furious punches and kicks, each being blocked by Goten's palms moving in sync with the attacks as if he was playing a game of patty cake before striking Lee with a sharp, stiff punch to the jaw.

He never saw it coming. From Lee's point of view, he was struggling in vain to even trouble his opponent into blocking traditionally, and the next, he was blindsided by the most thunderous pain he had ever felt in his life, knocking the lights right out of his vision. Eyes lolling to the back of his head as he stumbled clumsily away from Goten, Lee collapsed in an unconscious leap.

'What the hell? He knocked out, Lee? So easily?' Tenten blinked, jaw dropping to the ground. She somewhat anticipated Lee just might lose to the insanely powerful new kid that couldn't have been any higher than Genin like her, as much as she hated herself for it. She didn't want to root against Lee naturally. He was her _teammate_ , and they had experienced a lot together with their other teammate and sensei, but common sense told her a guy who could literally fire off A to S-ranked ninjutsu as easily as breathing without even making a single hand-sign, and could release a gale storm of a repulsion blast from him also without the need of hand signs had an distinct advantage over another guy who just his strength - which was countered by the same versatile guy - to his name. She did _NOT_ think Lee would go down that fast though, in just a single punch after so few seconds passed, no less. She had much more faith in her teammate's capabilities to push Goten near his limits than that.

For heaven's sakes it hadn't even been a minute before Lee succumbed to Goten's strength.

'What is this guy?' A bead of sweat rolled down her delicate cheek.

And Goten just bowed in polite respect of his fallen opponent; sticking to his benevolent character.

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

* * *

This. Boy. Was. Not. Natural.

Kurenai didn't know how many times she repeatedly told this to herself, each time enunciated slower and with far more emphasis on each word since tracking him down in the forest that was literally given precise meaning to its name; "The Forest of Death" by the enigmatic powerhouse child himself. Finding him wasn't hard either. She didn't have to be a tracker or a coach of a team of trackers to locate him. The bright, luminesce flashes of his power were glaring, giant red flags of its own exclaiming, "Forestry annihilation this way please."

Sadly, that quip hit closer to home than Kurenal would've liked.

Several trees, comprising at least half of the forest, and had been burned to a toasty crisp, leaving only the dozen stumps as leftovers to once great roots that kept the sunlight from the deep woods. The inhumanly sized creatures that were familiarized to the darkness hissed angrily to the sudden bright light assaulting their retinas. They launched an impromptu attack on Trunks, and, well…

Their scattered limps of their remains spoke for itself how "well" that unplanned assault had gone.

Despite the fact the boy could likely kill her with his pinkie finger, Kurenal still felt her bothersome motherly instincts commanding her to tell the boy who was tearing apart overgrown creatures and animals of the unnatural variety with a casual ease to come with her so she could clean him of the blood straining his clothes and properly feed him. He was just too precious for words. A wild boy establishing himself as King of the Jungle.

Even the boulder-sized wrathful, mindless automated spiders of the forest ceased their mindless onslaught, though Kurenai figured the boy likely fried them at their roots with his strange Chakra – to her – blasts.

Now he was eating whatever animals he found edible after a quick roast. Tigers, lions, bears, all of which literally flaunted the size comparable to one-story houses, were slayed with simple punches and grilled to a tasty crisp before being eaten by the savage wild boy, and the gourmet of the Forest of Death's animal kings did not stop. There seemed to be no end to his gluttony as he devoured what could've been conceived as houses within mere seconds of roasting them to a crisp.

Bile gathered in Kurenai's throat, but she choked it down, "Mercy, he's like an Akimichi," No. That wasn't quite right. Even the Akimichi-clan had limits to their definitely satiable appetites. He just kept on going on. A bead of awkward sweat rolled down Kurenai's delicate cheek, 'How is he not bloated I'll never know.'

"Hey," The enormous, endless eater called out, back faced away from her sitting on a knocked down tree in front of a huge fire and a roasting bear casting a massive shadow over his short frame. "I know you're there. Come out unless you want to get your butt kicked."

'So he can sense me?' Kurenai clarified to herself from her hiding spot pressed up against one of the few remaining trees. It didn't surprise her. Even during his utter rampage the boy had sent sparse glances in her direction letting her know he was aware of her general presence. He gave no indication he knew her exact hiding spot, but she guessed she could contribute that to his utter decimation of the forest keeping his attention off her.

Following his command, Kurenai obeyed, walking out into the open with poised grace. She had no desire to fight a protege of hers who could easily topple a specialist Jounin of Anko's calibre. Not to say she couldn't beat Anko, she was a fully fledged Jounin instructor, it just wouldn't have been nearly as easy as Trunks had dealt with her, "Very impressive young man."

Trunks turned his head at the sound of her feminine voice, considering her askance, "Okay, I'll bite. Who the heck are you?"

"My, not one for formalities, are you?" She commented, acknowledging his impatience with a light smile. Trunks did not look amused, "I'm Kurenai Yuhi. From this today onward until your promotion from Genin, I will be your Jounin Instructor."

"Oh?" Nonchalant recognition flickered in his eyes before he turned back to his feast. "Guess the old man told you about me, huh?"

She pitied his cavalier attitude of their Hokage with a shake of the head, "Yes," She said, delicately, "I'd like to introduce you to your teammates you'll be working with. Please be at training field eight tomorrow at noon sharp, young man."

Trunks replied without turning, "I'll be there."

She studied him curiously, "Do you know where the training field is, or would you like me to meet you somewhere you're familiar with already? Like Lord Hokage's tower for example? I presume you've been there"

Trunks waved her off, "Nah. Now that I got a lock on ya I'll find you wherever you are. Just be there and I'll show."

Remembering Trunks' sensory capabilities, she nodded in understanding, "Very well, young man." She graced him with one of her trademark delicate smiles, "It was nice meeting you, Trunks. I look forward to working with you and seeing the potential great achievements you could help Team Eight reach."

"You too, Kurenai."

* * *

 **A Saiyan's Kindness**

* * *

 _Knock._

 _Knock._

 _Knock._

Three subtle thuds of an obvious set of knuckles reverberated through the tidy home of the resident lone wolf of Konoha.

"Yeah." Sasuke's baritone indifferent voice drifted through the door, followed by his uncaring visage when he opened it, though his nose did twist in a disgusted grimace at the rotten stench carried by one of the two unnaturally strong kids his team had brought back to Konoha, "Why do you smell like a rotten egg?"

Wow. No hello or questions pertaining to his reasoning for seeking out his home. Never mind his house. The entire compound likely belonged to the Uchiha. The second Trunks had stepped through the walls of Sasuke's grounds, he couldn't sense a soul other than the blunt youth himself, as if he was the last remaining survivor of a clan. Darn. That was deep. Trunks could empathize with Sasuke, to a degree.

Not only did Sasuke skip all the lame formalities like he did with his new Jounin instructor, both rude boys had likely lost their entire families.

"Got into a fight with these freaky big animals in some spooky forest of the coast in the village," Sasuke raised his eyebrow, "Huh? You've never heard of a spooky forest here before? You live here."

"Idiot! I haven't been everywhere!" Sasuke shot back defensively, making Trunks raise his hands in a placating gesture. He didn't need to pointlessly antagonize the guy he was planning on mooching off for the time being. Sasuke's scowl calmed at Trunks's apologetic grin, "What are you doing here?"

"About that." His grin turned sly, elbow nudging suggestively toward Sasuke whose expression soured.

"Get to the point."

"Alright, alright. Darn. Can't lighten up, can you?" Trunks asked rhetorically, drawing a glare from the raven-haired boy, "Anyway," He shook his head, "Need a place to crash for a while." He slacked his hands into his pockets, trying to look nonchalant. "Any rooms?"

Sasuke looked past the boy's shoulder, looking left and right. "Where's the other guy?"

"Staying with the dork."

Sasuke snorted, "That figures."

"Tell me about it." Trunks agreed dryly, "So, can I stay?"

Sasuke retreated back into his house, leaving the door invitingly open, "Sure."

"Cool," Trunks breathed, relieved. He took a couple of steps into the neatly tidied landing of Sasuke's home and stopped at the boy's firm posture. Sasuke's hands were even on his hips.

"On one condition." Sasuke laid out.

Trunks blinked, "That is?"

"You train me."

"Sure," Trunks shrugged, walking past Sasuke, "Can probably only give ya basic strength training, though."

He heard Sasuke scoff in reluctant contentment, "Tch. That's fine. Anything to gain a fraction of the freaky power you guys possess." Trunks snickered at Sasuke's obvious jealousy of the power of him and Goten before proceeding to saunter off to the living room, whipping back around at the call of Sasuke's voice, "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Take a damn shower before you do anything in here!"

Trunks sniggered.

"Whatever you say , girl pants."

* * *

 **That's a rap, folks. Writing Tenten was a lot of fun. Like a lot of females in Naruto, she's a blank slate. She has no character. For evidence of this, I implore you to watch the scene where all the girls of the Konoha 12 hang out in celebration of Hinata's wedding. Tenten was literally"just there" having no lines of dialogue and no reason for being there at all, so yh, I hope I breathed some much needed life into her every static, bland character.**

 **Anyway, back to Rainbow Six Siege. If anyone has Siege on PC and would like to join me in my killing spree feel free to add me on Uplay. My account's "Ranma-chan."**


	6. Don't Look at the Light

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

Review Shoutouts 

EvilMagicman: **I know, right? Goten just has that cuddly cuteness about him which all the girls love. Good for Sasuke. With Trunks and Goten around, he can probably lose a good portion of his fangirls now, heh-heh. Yeah, it's a damn shame how badly Tenten was underutilized in the series, especially when you compare her to her teammates, Neji and Rock Lee. They both got their own character arcs, had their characters well established and even had time in the limelight so why couldn't she have received the same treatment? I smh. All the females got eclipsed by their male counterparts actually. The forgotten students of the two sannin of Orochimaru and Tsunade, Anko and Shizune respectively, pale in comparison to Jiraiya's, Minato. Tsunade just doesn't compare to Orochimaru and Jiraiya and their repertoire of abilities. Sakura doesn't compare to Naruto and Sasuke, you get the point.**

shadowdispencer: **Maybe. If I can get them to work realistically, then maybe. No promises there.**

quran harling: **Why, yes I did, good sir. I'm glad you noticed my reference, buddy.**

Kamen Rider Chrome: **All the enjoys of blinding nothingness lol.**

Touzoshin: **Thanks, buddy. I've got much to get out and I intend to get it out while I'm still firing. Oh, I'm sure Neji will handle it fairly well. He wasn't so bad pre-talk no jutsu therapy session. He even sounded amused by Lee's antics in the Chunin Exams. They were buddies.**

Statess: **And you can expect them to continue to hold back... unless they fight each other.**

joebob323: **Thanks, bro. I actually adapted my current writing style from Kenchi618. You should check him out if you haven't already. He's an amazing writer.**

ZFighter18 and Hawkcam1996: **You make a very good point. Keep in mind, in my shout out to pt1 I said I was considering TrunksxHinata, not that it was endgame, so I haven't decided if I really want them to be paired. And I've got mixed feelings with Hinata's "justification" for liking Naruto. It's not that it's an overused concept - You can use a clichéd idea and still craft a good story out of it after all - it's the fact it goes nowhere until they're 19. Naruto blanks her until then. WTF? Even ignoring her confession. I know why he did, though. It's because Kishimoto couldn't afford to have Naruto grow up and move on from his childish schoolboy crush on Sakura otherwise the Narusaku-tards would've dropped the series long before the end (stupid, I know, but there's people out there who will drop series for nonsensical reasons like not getting their shipping) Sadly, the innate fear of losing a portion of the fanbase crippled Naruhina, but that's my reasons why I can't for the life of me get behind Naruhina. Nonsensical love triangles just ruined it for me. On a lighter note, that scene in DB Super with Vegeta explaining Saiyans are wired to like strong-willed women was funny as hell, especially Piccolo's line "It all makes sense now!" lmao.**

Guest: **Thanks, buddy.**

AdrianVictus: **Thanks, man. I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

Guest 2: **As long as you keep reading, hehe.**

Guest 3: **That's kind of the point though.**

Kakarotsanmistic: **Thanks, bro. Will do.**

Guest 4: **Thanks, man.**

dolguldur: **Thanks, bro. I'm trying.**

BossKuramaBrat: **Amen to that. I'm tired of stories that are frightened to derail completely from canon with the presence of two new characters. Yh, I can see her holding Trunks down now that you mention it, but you never know. May just surprise you. Heh-heh.**

YeTianshi - **You and me both, brother. Thanks a bunch.**

* * *

The following day saw the continuous sound of pouring crunchy flakes initiating Sasuke's epiphany of the glaring mistake he'd made by offering a room to one of the most powerful preteens to ever saunter into the village. Granted, it wasn't really a mistake so much as overlooked. There was no mistake to be had exchanging a room to a super strong kid for tutoring lessons in the art of butt kicking so he could gain similarly inhuman strength to achieve his lifelong goal.

Overlooking details like how in the ever-loving world was he going to feed said super strong strength coach and still have enough to feed himself, however, was a hiccup that couldn't be ignored. That was Sasuke's great realization as he emerged from his room and found Trunks pouring himself a helping of the largest bowl of cereal ever. Like literally. He drained the whole damn box of cereal, Sasuke's _cereal_ , in a big bowl meant for baking.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sasuke panicked, appearing at Trunks' side in a blur, hefting his cereal arm away from the bowl, for all the good it did, which was none. Trunks had already poured every last bit of crunchy flakes within his oversized bowl.

Trunks snapped his arm from his grasp in a dismissive fashion before answering in a deadpan Sasuke was quickly coming to associate him with, "Duh. Eating."

Sasuke stood, gaping at the audacity of his roommate raiding his cupboards. It was bad enough on its own that the rude boy had even helped himself to a single large serving without asking, but emptying out the whole box in one bowl was too much, "Not my food, you're not." He stated firmly, "Get your own!"

Trunks sighed, weaving a hand through his spaghetti lavender locks, "Look, I've already poured the milk. Just lemme eat. I'll buy ya another box later, alright?"

Sasuke spared a sparse glance to the evidently closed carton of milk by Trunks' bowl, bulged out on each side indicating it hadn't yet been touched, "No, you haven't."

The sound of draining liquid perfectly contrasted Sasuke's silent gawking.

"Now I have," Trunks deadpanned, casually flicking the now empty carton of milk into the bin over by the fridge.

"Unbelievable!" Sasuke threw up his hands in obvious surrender. He didn't know what had overcome him extending an invitation to his home to a monstrous big eater who made Naruto, someone who packed away at least five bowls of ramen a day, look like a normal consumer of food by comparison. He could've at least remembered to make a rule that Trunks had to buy his own damn food or put pad locks on all his cupboards and his fridge.

Actually, the padlock quip didn't make for such a half bad idea.

He wouldn't want Trunks getting into his precious tomato patch…

"You owe me a box of cereal and a carton of milk!" The tomato-lover demanded, marching over to his kitchen counter where a plain black toaster laid. Flipping open his bread container, Sasuke practically yanked two slices from his loaf of bread before proceeding to angrily slam them into his toaster.

"Yeah, yeah." Trunks snarked, uncaring as he dug into his breakfast.

Sasuke watched Trunks munching and slurping away his food in an incredibly reminiscent manner of a pig sloppily slurping up mud with a profound grimace, "How are you not bloated?" He asked, the raising heat being emitted from his toaster burning his bread symbolizing his hotly annoyance at the messy eater.

Trunks swallowed another massive bite of delicious flakes, greedily licking his spoon clean and even wiping off the excess cereal around his face with the back of his hand before mopping those bits off with his tongue too, drawing a disgusted groan from his roommate, "Just got a big metabolism." He specified simply, "Goten is the same. So is my Dad and his older brother."

Sasuke was smart enough that he didn't need the implications fully explained, "So basically, your whole clan are a bunch of big eaters," He stated bluntly, not missing the brief flicker of confusion in his house guest's eyes as if he didn't know what he was talking about before he nodded regardless. Interesting. He filed that titbit of information away for later, "Right," The raven-haired Uchiha said sarcastically as the tips of his toast popped up, "I'm still wondering how you got fed if there were others who eat just as much as you guys." He grabbed himself a plate to throw his toast on, adding impatiently when he saw Trunks lift a finger, "I know your family's rich! I was being rhetorical!"

Trunks shrugged, returning to his flawless imitation of a sloppy pig embracing the devil-may-care manner of living. Sasuke soon joined him at the table after buttering his toast, though he ate far more "reservedly" than Trunks, reservedly as in by comparison to his house guest's ungraceful eating style. Sasuke ate normally, nibbling on the edges of his toast without a fuss.

"So," It wasn't like Sasuke to strike up a conversation, but in this case his interest was vaguely piqued since ascertaining his new roommate had been made a shinobi by glancing at his leaf headband. He rolled his eyes when Trunks glanced up from his half-devoured bowl of a _whole_ damn box of cereal, one cheek inflated and droplets of milk dripping messily from his bottom lip, "What… squad are you on?" He choked out, frowning irritably.

Trunks wasn't dense by any stretch of the imagination, just obnoxiously inconsiderate, thus got the message Sasuke was conveying with his annoyance. He swallowed his mouthful in one unnatural gulp and wiped his mouth, "You know that Kurenai-lady? I'm on hers."

Sasuke looked oddly irritated by the revelation as he clicked his teeth, "So team eight."

"What? Did you want me to be on your team or something?" Trunks grinned slyly, "Darn, didn't know you felt _that_ way about me. Sorry to disappoint though. I don't swing that way."

He had been trying to get his distinctly anti-social roommate to loosen up since he showered and changed into a pair of his borrowed clothes comprising of a short-sleeved white t shirt and knee-high black shorts so their time living together wouldn't be completely freaking awkward with him being so mute, but this latest attempt of doing so only aroused the same unamused flatline stare of his. That was quickly becoming a trademark of Sasuke's all on its own.

"You idiot." The raven-haired Uchiha replied with dry irritation, drawing a sheepish grin from the lavender-haired boy, "I was going to say it would've been convenient if you were on my team. That way we could've continued my training even on the move." Ah, his training. Trunks had to give him points for dedication because he was looking to make his father proud with how hard he pushed him, making him do a dozen sit ups, squats and push ups before he went to bed.

"Nah. I left your team to Goten. The dork needed him a lot more than you needed me, let's be honest."

"Great, so I'm stuck with the los-. Ompf!" He never got to finish that sentence. He could only vaguely make out the noisy clatter of his chair rattling nastily against the tiled flooring of his kitchen with the fabricated winds of his "air ride" ringing obnoxiously in his ears, before his body was pressed up against the wall, a fistful of his shirt grasped in a death lock as a set of knuckles grinded unforgivingly into his chest.

Petrified realization impaled Sasuke like an authoritative bolt of lightning, staring wide-eyed at the darkened glare of just barely restrained fury of his house guest pinning him against the wall. Despite the relatively easy-going nature of Trunks, he could still break him with a pinkie without even breaking a sweat.

"Listen bud," Trunks began in a menacing fashion, instantly getting Sasuke to hold his breath with bated anticipation, "Don't take this the wrong way. I'm grateful as hell for you letting me crash at your place, but if you _ever_ bad mouth Goten around me even once…" He pushed against him in emphasis, digging his knuckles into his chest and pressing his forehead against Sasuke's, baring down his prey's terrified expression threateningly, "Heh, you don't even want to know how bad your butt will be kicked. Let's just say what Goten and I did against that Zabuza-jerk will be nothing," He said lowly, "Is that clear?"

Sasuke nodded. It was all he could muster under the hellish pressure.

"Cool," Trunks said, releasing Sasuke and pivoting from him in a stiff turn.

Sasuke was always a relatively pale person by nature, but right at that exact moment he could've resembled a ghost. He had never snapped his palm to his rapidly beating heart faster in that moment as he inhaled with controlled breaths in a bid to slow his heart rate. That horrible sensation Trunks had subjected him to as a warning for nearly trash talking his close companion was like nothing he had ever felt before.

Even Zabuza's killing intent paled in comparison to the lethal intent of Trunks.

He considered the hot-headed preteen retaking his seat to finish off his breakfast warily, weighing the pros and cons of joining him in an uncharacteristic tentative demeanour. When it was clear Trunks wasn't going to antagonize or randomly lunge at him, Sasuke tentatively pulled up his flipped over chair, re-joining his violent roommate against his better judgement.

An encompassing silence, and not of the peaceful variety, engulfed them. Usually Sasuke liked quiet environments, but not this one. It was far too awkward as he flicked sparse glances of attempted rationalization at the grumpy preteen across from him.

He didn't understand Trunks' defensive outburst in defence of a boy who was very much like the resident goofball of his team. To Sasuke, Trunks and Goten seemed like two entirely different people. Trunks was an intelligent fellow with a charismatic air about him. Naturally, one of the "cool kids" leading a crowd most other kids want to get into in school, Sasuke wagered. And Goten, well, he was a happy-go-lucky bubblehead attuned with nature.

And yet, they were close to the extent it greatly annoyed Trunks hearing anyone bad mouthing him. Sasuke ventured to guess the only thing stopping the protective boy from making good on his threat to pry him of a couple of teeth was the threat of being evicted from his home.

It boggled Sasuke's mind contemplating how two entirely different people from varying worlds could be so close.

He just didn't know.

Despite his own high popularity amidst his fellow peers in the academy, Sasuke kept a polite distance from the masses, leaving him very much out of the social loop as much as Naruto was, strangely enough.

As the two finished their early day meals and headed off to their own schedules, the ice of deafening silence formed between them from their conflict never broke.

* * *

 **New Kids of the Block**

* * *

xXx

Contrary to the heated, knife-edge atmosphere between the cool duo across the Village Hidden in the Leaves was the light-hearted and breezy as the clouds in the sky ambience of the airheads, both seen stepping out of Naruto's apartment in their typical cheerful moods.

"Alright, Goten," Naruto said, sounding like he needed to speak with his new roommate about something of high importance as he locked his apartment door, "As pumped as I am that you're going to be living with me from now on, can you pleaseeeeeee stay out of my Ramen stash?" His eyes sparkled as he intertwined his fingers in a prayer motion, "You can eat as many boxes of cereal as you want, just as long as you don't eat any of my instant Ramen cups. They're my absolute favourite! Believe it!"

He had been completely ecstatic when Goten asked him for a sleepover, naturally seeing it as his chance to escape the void of loneliness he had essentially been born into. Awkwardly, he had to push his luck, asking Goten if he had a permanent place to stay, and when Goten shook his head replying no, his throat dried up in nervous anticipation.

Asking Son Goten if he wanted to just live with him was likely the hardest and nail-biting thing he had ever done. Even a _written test_ ; the absolute bane of his existence seemed easy by comparison. That was how nervous he was. When Goten nodded with a simple utterance of the simplified phrase of yes, his heart swelled up and a huge weight was taken off his shoulders. Finally, he wouldn't be alone anymore. No more would he have to return to that empty apartment by himself, talking to people that just weren't there to artificially fill the void.

Goten was his light that shone away every last speck of darkness of his once desolated world and he couldn't be more overjoyed.

Regardless of his euphoric relief of having a bond of warm-hearted solidarity to call his own, despite of that release of sexual-like torment, he was still reminded of his friend's unquenchable appetite seeing him eat a whole box of cereal with _warm tap water_. Because Naruto's milk was expired, Goten filled up his large bowl of an entire box of cereal with tap water and devoured it like it was milk doused. Every last bit of water-soaked chocolate chips.

That reaffirmed Naruto's resolve of keeping Goten away from his precious Ramen stash.

"Sure. I don't mind," Goten beamed, following Naruto down the steps of the two-story apartment complex, "I eat anything. I'm not fussy."

Naruto's frantic expression of comedic pleading abated as beads of awkward sweat rained down his visage, "That's what I'm worried about..." He countered dryly, drawing a peaceful smile from his own big eater of a roommate, "Okay!" It didn't take long for the usual hyperactive rookie shinobi to inflate himself back on his high momentum of energized enthusiasm at all. Just as soon as the two had left his humble two-story apartment complex and began traversing through the streets of Naruto's neighbourhood block with the radiating sun hanging above them symbolizing their brightly jovial moods, Naruto's enthusiastic beat returned as if he was solar-powered.

"Off to new beginnings!~ And new adventures beyond!~" Naruto crowed, pumping a fist skyward.

"Yeah!" And Goten nodded, just following the leader in his sheep mentality.

The two ran off to meet up with the rest of their team to complete the first phases of the rest of their lives.

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

xXx

(Elsewhere - With Sasuke and Sakura)

xXx

The two other members of Kakashi's little noob squad of Genin ninja were already stood at bored/distracted attention at the designated location their tardy sensei – known for his tendency to show up late – asked them to rendezvous at, for some reason they were still working out for themselves. Well, the bubble-gum haired kunoichi knew why she showed up early, early just being "on time" by Kakashi's standards. She wanted to spend the alone time granted by her sensei's absence with her crush.

Of course, her motivates hinged heavily on her other teammate also playing hooky, but since Naruto was lazy she felt she wasn't reaching too much with her plan.

As for Sasuke's incentive for turning up on time in spite of the dangers of his patience waning in response to Kakashi's tardiness, well, he just wanted to put as much distance between himself and Trunks as humanly possible, and to take his mind off his ill-tempered roommate. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since Trunks pulled him up against his wall, putting the squeeze of oppression on him to never talk shit about Goten.

Despite the fact he should, by all rights, feel terribly irritated being coerced and thrown around in his own home given his pride not even as an Uchiha, just as a male person in general, Sasuke just couldn't. All throughout their forcefully quietened lunch, Sasuke's conscious, thought to had been repressed following his clan's butchery by his brother's "cold" hands, stirred within him, keeping his mind preoccupied even now as he thought to repress it.

He just didn't understand what he felt so rotten about for triggering the lavender-haired boy's temper, why he wasn't willing to pin the blame for their altercation solely on Trunks himself and ask the boy to leave the premises of his clan's grounds.

He was so out of tune with his emotions he just didn't know what to make of them.

"Good morning, Sasuke."

Great. Now he had this to deal with, his unwanted admirer's annoyingly shy voice aroused from being near him, shuffling nervously beside him on the bridge they stood on waiting for their other teammates. From the corner of Sasuke's eye from his place coolly leaning on the railing of the bridge, he saw the girl's fidgeting arms moving toward his posture.

His eyes narrowed. Physical contact was not what he wanted at this minute. Mood already darkened like the clouds on a rainy day as it was, the glower he pierced her with came as natural as breathing. She flinched under the biting glare's intensity, shrinking away from her intolerable crush.

"I wish Goten was here," Sakura lamented, hanging her head, "I bet he would give me a hug."

Either the unknown forces deciding how the world functioned was taking pity on her or the cuddly boy with her hug fix heard her pray and came within earshot to grant it for the sole reason for his sudden presence, the adorable boy's cheery greeting rang out from behind her, "Hi ya, Sakura!"

"Goten!" Smiling widely, the kunoichi pivoted on her heel, scooping the porcupine-haired youth up in an embrace the moment he came within arm's reach of her with Naruto by his side, "I knew you'd give me a hug."

Sasuke attentively noticed the darker shade and lowered positioning of Goten's hair, 'He's not in his Super Saiyan form.' Noteworthy because he had been golden since Naruto asked him to, and that was a good couple of days ago, 'Did he run out of stamina?'

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" Goten asked, smiling bashfully in Sakura's obsessive hold, "You're nice."

She nestled her cheek against his, vastly akin to an elder sister smothering her little brother, "Aw, you're such a sweetie."

"Um, Sakura," Her whiskered cheeked teammate tried, nervously lifting a finger to make a point. "I'm here. I… can give you a hug too."

Goten could feel Sakura stiffening against him before the pink-haired girl loured at his roommate over her shoulder, "Naruto." She intoned in a warning tone, "You're annoying."

He comically felt his spirits crushed under the sheer weight of his crush's flatline grimace of annoyance, "Why always him?" He moaned lowly, turning from the embraced twosome and squatting on his knees, doodling an imaginary circle on the ground with his index finger, "I'm cuddly too…"

Sakura ignored Naruto's dramatics in favour of gratifying Goten with a sweet smile, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, Goten," She specified, holding him by his shoulders, "But what are you doing here?" She gestured over her shoulder dryly, "Did that knucklehead bring you here?"

"Oh, Mr Kakashi told me to come," Goten answered simply.

Sakura blinked, "He did?" A small nod from the boy made her glance at his waist to see his headband, "Wait. So does this mean you're a shinobi now?"

"Uh-huh." He nodded affirmatively once more, a small smile on his face.

"Oh, Goten! That's wonderful!" She exclaimed, fully fastening her arms around the boy's neck in delight, her warm cheek nestling his, "I'm so happy for you! I'm glad you're on my team." Or so she expressed her joy outwardly, because inwardly was a different story entirely, ' **Yeah right! What the hell am I supposed to do with this adorable little troglodyte on the team! Cha!** ' She was already hard-pressed keeping up with Naruto and Sasuke as it was. Granted, neither of them did much of anything in the last mission, the closest thing to a noteworthy contribution being Sasuke's admirable performance against two Chunin level ninja, her male counterparts at least had perks. Naruto had his ridiculous high-levels of stamina and Chakra and Sasuke, well… It went without saying he had both his prodigious skill, and his Kekkei Genkai inherited from his clan's bloodline, even if he hadn't awakened it yet.

What did she have? Perfect Chakra control? That could easily be obtained by them through training.

Super Saiyan, Sharingan and monstrous levels of Chakra, however were not.

It was disheartening being on a team of unique individuals and being the one oddball out; the one member without an exclusive trait unique to her to bring to the table.

'What am I going to do?' She anguished mentally to herself, slowly releasing Goten from her hold.

"Um. Are you okay, Sakura?" Goten blinked, noticing Sakura's deflated expression.

She flinched, quickly schooling her features into a beatific smile as she laughed awkwardly, brushing off his concerns with a delicate wave of the hand, "Oh, don't worry, Goten! It's nothing personal," She almost cringed when he continued to blink blankly at her flimsy excuse. She conjured up another one quickly, "I'm just angry that sensei will probably keep us waiting for twenty minutes before he shows up." She grumped. Lying with the truth did wonders naturally souring her expression, because she genuinely was angry at Kakashi.

"Damn it! I totally forgot!" Naruto cursed, bonking himself on the head. He turned, acknowledging Goten's dumbfounded befuddlement with a sheepish, apologetic grin, "Sorry, Goten. Kakashi-sensei always turns up like thirty minutes late. Kind of annoying actually."

"It's okay," Goten shrugged, instantly dropping onto his stomach before holding his body off the ground by his toes and arms, lowering himself down before pushing himself up, proceeding to repeat the process, garnering looks of intrigue from his teammates at the workout regime, "I can just train in the meantime."

xXx

(Elsewhere – Generic Training Field Eight)

xXx

"Alright, Kurenai-sensei. What are we doing for today?" A hooded boy with distinguishing red markings tattooed on each of his cheeks asked his lovely, but sometimes absolutely terrifying motherly Jounin teacher, the dry boredom laced in his tone suggesting he was fully aware of their schedule and was only asking as a formality.

A small, baby dog peeked over his hooded head, yelping in agreement.

Kurenai graced her only out spoken student with one of her trademark delicate smiles of classy elegance, "The usual routine, Kiba," She said, eliciting a roll of the eyes from the dog-based clansman, "But before that, though, I would like to introduce you to Team Eight's newest member."

An adorable squeaky "eep" like that of a mouse was heard from the Genjutsu mistress's most soft-spoken member, who was wearing a distinctive thick eskimo jacket to hide her figure, symbolizing her timid nature, "A fourth member?!" She squeaked out quietly and demurely lifted a slightly balled hand to her mouth, her distinctive moon-like pupiless eyes shining with uncertainty.

"He must be exceptionally skilled, a rare talent of the highest calibre to be assigned to a squad already in rotation." The least spoken and yet most proficient and deadliest of her team of trackers analysed stoically, chin tucked away underneath his high-collared, long-sleeved silvery-grey jacket and slim, round black glasses masquerading his expression.

She smiled gracefully at her composed student's analytical assessment in approval, "You're quite right, Shino. The boy is a one of a kind hidden gem."

"C'mon!" The canine feral member of team eight insisted, considering his sensei askance, "How strong can this guy really be?"

Their sensei was never one to smirk, but right at that moment they could've sworn they felt the slightest bit of contentment slip into her otherwise elegant of features, "Strong enough that even an S-ranked shinobi couldn't defeat him." Their reactions were instantaneous.

The pupiless, pearly eyed girl gasped silently, slapping her hands over her gaping mouth.

Kiba's mouth hung open, slacked at the jaw as his fists trembled at his sides.

And Shino merely stiffened visibly.

"No way," The feral fanged dog tamer expressed their astonished thoughts, looking up at their sensei hesitatingly, "How old is this guy, Kurenai-sensei?"

"Only twelve." She answered systematically.

"Incredible," Hinata gasped, "He sounds so strong," There was an awkward pause as she struggled to gather her words, "Even at our age."

"Yes," Kurenai nodded, "To give you all a recent example of the boy's strength, he recently got into a fight with one of our more… hot-headed Jounin specialists and defeated her with ease." Shock electrified their cores, "As you can see, permitting him into the academy would've been unnecessary."

"Yeah," Kiba said, swallowing a lump down his throat. "I mean, what could the dude learn from guys he's already stronger than?" The academy instructors at most were only Chunin level. A kid who could go toe-to-toe with Jounin-level ninjas, even only specialists, and could come out on top was naturally going to be heads-and-shoulders above them with an already developed skill set.

Kurenai nodded and was about to go into the specifics of their new recruitment until Shino's warning stopped her, "Something's approaching." He said, voice laced with controlled urgency, "Something powerful.

Kurenai's fiery-red eyes widened but before she could even begin to rationalize the evidently powerful presence as their latest squad member, the puppy's terrified bark on Kiba's head alerted their attention, "Bark, bark."

"What is it, boy?" Kiba asked softly, eyes filling with concern as his puppy whimpered, snuggling into his jacket, "Akamaru."

"What's wrong with Akamaru?" The moon-eyed girl asked, worriedly peering over at the quivering puppy, "He looks shaken up. I-Is… this person really that strong?"

Kiba nodded, supplying comforting strokes of the palm to the puppy's chin, gaze solemn, "Yeah, Akamaru's never felt Chakra this… intense before."

Kurenai hastily whirled her head over her shoulder, 'Is this Trunks?' She hadn't expected his Chakra levels to be so powerful in nature that her students were visibly unnerved just by the mere feel of its nearby presence. Then again, it was also that time of year where other Genin from other neighbouring villagers were visiting the leaf, so maybe there was a possibility this level of intense Chakra was one of them? She had to be sure, "Hinata!"

Hinata jumped at the authority in her sensei's tone, "Y-Yes, Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai locked with gazes with her grimly, "Use your Byakugan and scan ahead. Tell me what you see."

"Alright," Hinata obeyed, locking her hands together in a hand-sign, "Byakugan." A circular pulse of visible Chakra was emitted from her eyes as veins bulged out around them which were filled with an solemn intensity not there previously. She only needed a glance of her microscopic black and white vision before she gasped in horror, shrinking back as if she was stung, "Eeep!"

"Hinata!" Kiba said, with Shino looking merely concerned, "What's wrong? What did you see?"

Hinata looked rattled to the bone, shaking uncontrollably with wide eyes of horror, "T-That, that person." She started, relaxing slightly under her motherly instructor's gentle touch.

"Calm down," Kurenai comforted, "Take a deep breath and tell us what you saw," She graced her with a caring smile. "I'm here with you after all.

Taking her sensei's protection under account, Hinata inhaled, exhaling with a leisured breath, "That person has no Chakra network." The results of her revelation were deafening.

Imaginary bolts of lightning paralyzed her teammates on the spots of where they stood, horrified eyes dilating wide.

"What!?" Kiba shouted, startling Hinata with the loud tone of his voice, "You serious Hinata? You sure this dude hasn't got a Chakra network?"

"Yes," Hinata confirmed, spooking Kiba just from the mere firmness of the tone of her voice, a rarity for her, "I've never seen anything like this before. He… he doesn't have any Chakra pathways, but still has Chakra, so much Chakra. I've… I've never seen anybody with so much Chakra. It hurts to even look at him!" She whisked her view from the beacon of Chakra itself, "I-It's like, he's an entity of Chakra itself!"

Kiba's wide eyes rattled in his sockets, "No way."

A bead of sweat traced the length of Kurenai's delicate cheek as the Jounin instructor turned her head in the direction of the incoming wave of immense Chakra, 'Could this be an Jinchuuriki?' Granted, she had never heard of a tailed beast being able to shut off its container's chakra pathways, but then again, information pertaining to the abilities of the other Jinchuurikis hadn't been documented. Hell, Konoha didn't even know what their own tailed beast offered Naruto beside an enhanced healing factor.

With that in mind, she barked out orders, "Get into positions, everyone. This person could very well be hostile."

Kiba wasn't one to sit idly by and wait for the action to come to him. Patience wasn't his style, "Right," He said, removing Akamaru from his hoody and as well as a small, coin-sized chocolate brown button from his pocket, "Me and Akamaru will get this guy's attention. Shino, back me up and you see if you can't suck this guy's Chakra, will ya?" Shino nodded in acceptance of the hastily thought out plan while Kiba flipped the pill into his puppy's mouth, "Here, Akamaru, have a food pill."

Akamaru swallowed the food pill in one go, and, forgetting of his apprehension of the monstrously sized wall of immense Chakra casually approaching them, hopped from his master's grasp, his small barks turning aggressive as he powered up, fur turning red as if Akamaru just went Kaio-ken.

"Now!" Kiba commanded, crouching and making a hand-sign. "Man Beast Clone!" A sudden puff of smoke materialized around Akamaru's blood-red form, vanishing to reveal an exact replica of Kiba, "Let's go, Akamaru!" He darted toward the mass of Chakra, trailed by the transformed Akamaru before the two feral warriors corkscrewed their bodies as though they were a pair of screw drivers, cannoning themselves in a tag team assault of twisting tornados, "Fang over Fang!"

No more than a second passed before Hinata gasped in frightened horror, "Kiba!"

"What happened?" Kurenai asked in urgency.

The fear of the nullification of her teammate's strongest attack essentially engulfed Hinata's eyes, "His…" She took a deep breath to gather her words of the frightening sight she had borne witness to with her extended night vision of microscopic prowess, "He got caught, he and Akamaru. That person just… s-stopped his fang over fang jutsu with his bare hands!"

"Incredible." A droplet of sweat slid down Shino's cheek and into his collar, "Then, it's worse than we imagined. This person is far stronger than we expected if he can stop Kiba's most effective jutsu as easily as you're implying, Hinata." The Hyuuga heiress nodded in clarification.

"Get behind me, you two!" Kurenai commanded, brandishing a kunai and holding it up to her razor-sharp gaze, "I'll handle it from here."

They each held their breath with great suspense as a silhouette with elongated arms emerged through the metal fence of the Training Field's entrance, shadowed by the overgrown roofs and leaves growing by the small passage way. As the shadowy figure stepped out of the shade the light washed the shadows away masking his face, revealing the pensive scowl of Kurenai's newest protege sauntering forward while holding the dangled duo of Kiba and his transformed partner in his extended arms by the palms.

"That's him!" Hinata yelped, dashing for cover behind the safety of her sensei, though some of her initial fear settled when she saw her sensei's previously tense posture slack in a relaxed fashion in spite of her clarification of the monstrous entity of chakra itself being within view for all to see, "Huh?"

"Oh, it's only Trunks." Though her relieved tone of crafted nonchalance was heavily masquerading her own stupefaction of the simple fact the identified boy had been the one to cause such an disturbance with his presence alone. There was no mistaking him with someone else emitting the supreme tidal wave of mighty Chakra thickening the very air around them after Hinata had already clarified it was him. She just needed to assure her two students the fearsome presence of unknown Chakra so tangible in the air it had each of them on the edges of their seats when it was in range of their abilities was friendly. She would definitely be making a mental note to get to the bottom of the boy's vacant Chakra network yet ludicrous reserves later.

"Trunks?" Shino repeated, spoil for choice of what to contemplate first; those being a toss-up between Kurenai's knowledge of the deceptively powerful boy with Chakra so enticing his insects just wanted to suck the life out of him right there and then, if the boy was their fourth member, or how anyone so powerful could have such an odd name.

"He's our new member," Kurenai clarified.

"I see," Hinata said, slowly withdrawing from Kurenai's back to see the latest recruitment in their team. From her perspective she could only see a great white blob vaguely forming to a resemble a humanoid figure holding Kiba and Akamaru with its palms. For goodness sakes, even Akamaru had a Chakra network with blue energy circulating through it. This boy's energy system was just a giant white wall of endless nothing, likely symbolizing the infinite depth of his power.

She shook her head, turning off her Byakugan lest she go blind, the veins receding, 'How could anyone have Chakra like that?'

When the mean-faced surly looking boy covered the distance and stopped before them, Kurenai offered him one of her trademarks elegant smiles, "Why, hello, Trunks. I'm glad to see you could make it."

"Hey," Trunks greeted back, noncommittal. He nonchalantly released the two clones he was holding like sacks of potatoes, much to Hinata's strangled relief, "You know these lamoes? They just jumped me out of nowhere."

"They're your teammates," Kurenai supplied helpfully.

"Oh." Trunks said, a hint of sarcasm in his disinterested tone, "Still doesn't explain why they attacked me though."

"Um." Hinata awkwardly spoke up, bleaching under the boy's sullen scrutiny. Goodness, he could pierce metal with a gaze that sharp, "I-I'm sorry!" She hurried, blushing up an embarrassed storm under his contemplative look, "It's just, your Chakra was, well," She fumbled, fidgeting with her index fingers, "How can I put this? Really scary."

"Okay," Trunks deadpanned, pushing an index finger up to her eyes while one of the feral looking boys burst into a cloud of smoke, "What's with the freaky eyes?" Hinata dropped her head in comical depression as Akamaru cleared the smoke around him away with his tail.

"It isn't nice to be so blunt, young man," Kurenai scolded, or at least tried to reprimand the youth on his insensitivity.

Trunks couldn't care less, "Whatever." She expected as much given her initial observation of his character during his encounter with Anko. He had a very much no-nonsense attitude about him, which naturally made chiding his behaviour next to impossible. The only saving grace Kurenai had of her indiscipline pupil was the fact It was still early days in their unestablished team dynamic, so she could hope as they all grow together and define their teamwork, he would naturally be more inclined to consider the feelings of his teammates.

It was a hope she felt confident grasping firmly on to, especially considering the personalities of her other disciples. Hinata was obviously too meek to ever consider picking fights with someone as bad-tempered as Trunks. Kiba would never go up against an superior opponent. And Shino would likely just be unfazed by any insensitivities directed to his abnormal abilities by the frank lavender-haired boy.

Cool customer, that one.

So in theory, there should be little to no arguments that could be a potential detriment to their comradery.

Trunks' gaze lingered on the pearly eyed girl for a second or two longer, her distinctly nervous squirms of a weak will causing his eyes to narrow in contempt, 'Why is he looking at me like that?' Hinata mused, averting her eyes from an all too familiar frosty stare of disdain.

She heard the boy scoff lightly to himself, but didn't see him turn from her in disdain, "So I'm guessing she has one of those doujutsu-things or whatever, like the Sharingan right?" He asked their sensei neutrally, though Hinata could practically feel his jerked thumb pressed against her spine like a knife even if it wasn't touching her.

"That's right," Kurenai answered with a hard tone. She couldn't help but give the boy a scornful look for his disdainful consideration of the Hyuga heiress. She had already suffered enough frosty stares of such oppression, and been burdened with expectation in her own household alone as it was without him adding to that suffering. Kurenai wouldn't let Trunks subject her to anymore even if she couldn't defeat him in single combat. She would find someway to shield Hinata from his cruelty.

"It's called the Byakugan. It lets Hinata make out the smallest details such as ants for example even from afar at an three-hundred and sixty microscopic vision." Kurenal explained, drawing a nonchalant whistle from the boy.

"Neat."

"It was also said the Sharingan was derived from the Byakugan some time ago."

"Whoa! Hold up, Teach." Trunks held up a palm. "Don't need a history lesson. Just wanted to know what the darn thing was, that's all."

She shook her head, pitying his impatience.

"Dude!" Kiba complained, Akamaru back in his regular form and perch from his head as he stood, "Can't believe you stopped my fang over fang like that."

"Wasn't really much of an attack so much as it was a push," Trunks taunted, "Barely felt anything."

"Shut up!" He raged, drawing a snicker from Trunks.

"Alright team," Kurenai said, gaining their attention, "We'll start with introductions, and from there you'll carry out your usual slew of D-ranked missions so you can get familiar with each other. If you perform well enough, I may just have a surprise in store for you."

* * *

 **Don't Look at the Light**


	7. Big Leagues

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

 **Laziness is a curse and I'm stuck with it. Can't be asked to reply to anyone individually this time around. I will, however, give thanks to-**

1st Guest

YeTianshi 

Greer123

Hawkcam1996

Guest dubbed Peter Kim 

2nd Guest

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Touzoshin 

**You think I would remember your names after writing them down three times, you'd be wrong. lul**

 **Thanks, guys**

* * *

"Sorry I'm late everyone. A black cat crossed my path, and you know the old superstition. I had to take the long route around."

The nail-biting, jaw-clenching undivided attentions of Sakura and Naruto solely on Goten's tireless marathon of endless push-ups was finally averted by the casual entrance of slothful nonchalance of their sensei, his little orange book once again in one hand with the other slacked in his pocket.

The awe of wonderment in the emerald and cerulean eyes of Sakura and Naruto respectively sharpened, glistening with a candescent shine of lethal irritation as they pierced Kakashi's posture of insouciance with their glaring daggers of death.

"Can it!" They yelled, turning and sending accusatory fingers his way as one unit.

Kakashi chuckled a tad, both to placate his annoyed students and his awkward, out-of-place, admiration of their synchronizing act of reprimanding him, 'If only their teamwork was that well synchronized they probably wouldn't have needed the fusion of Goten and Trunks to beat Zabuza,' He joked to himself.

The audible sounds of the newest addition to his team of green, freshly-minted shinobi righting himself from his lowered position on the ground in a flip warranted his attention, "Hi, Mr Kakashi," Goten greeted with his usual sunny politeness.

Kakashi couldn't help but humour the bright-eyed newly made Genin of infinite nicety, a pleasant smile forming over his own features. His positive attitude was just too contagious for anyone to resist the same happy vibes he was emitting, "Why, hello to you, too, Goten," He returned, and, feeling cheeky, teased him in a good-natured fashion, "Did you have a filling breakfast?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Goten nodded peppily, spreading out his arms wide like an eagle to accentuate the great, big size dish of the early meal he had wolfed down contently, "I ate a whole box of cereal."

Naruto hung his head, comically abated of life, "Tell me about it."

"Uh… Well, Goten is a growing boy," Sakura weakly offered, mustering up a loving, proud smile as she combed a hand through his pointy locks, the perfect representation of a mother duckling showering her baby with praise; his innocent childlike nature kindling all the innate, motherly instincts within her, "Isn't that right, Goten?"

A couple of the tiniest nods from the shy boy filled her with the urge to smother him once more. Oh, she loved him.

Kakashi bequeathed his mothered subordinate with another one of his signature pleasant, smiley expressions, chuckling warmly a bit.

"So what're we doing for our first day of ninja hood?" Goten beamed up at him, wide hopeful gaze dewy-eyed in excitement.

"Uoo! Uoo!" Naruto chimed in with monkey-like chants, nudging up his arm frantically as if desperately trying to warrant the attention of his homeroom teacher to visit the little boy's room, "Can we get another one of those C-but-it's-really-B-ranked missions? That last one was awesome!" He threw an arm around Goten's shoulder to highlight the high-risk all reward success of their recent surprisingly light-hearted mission in spite of the dangers it presented, "It got us, Goten! What's not to love?"

Kakashi humoured Naruto's optimism with a smiley face, "It's because Goten's here with us now is why you guys have to start from square one."

The enthused excitement on Naruto's face subsided in confusion, "What?"

A familiar click of the teeth diverted his befuddled attention to the quiet Uchiha who was only now pushing himself from his perch on the railing in cool resignation, "Should've figured it would be back to the basics with the new guy."

The heavy sign heaved from his crush's mouth shifted his dumfounded stare to her to find her grasping her forehead with her fingers, lifting up the bangs of her hair in the process, "Ah! And just when I thought we were done with all that."

Recognition coloured Naruto's quivering eyes of comical fear, "No-No-No-No."

Kakashi brightened down at him puckishly.

"Yes-Yes-Yes."

"Say it isn't so, Kakashi-sensei! Anything but that! I'm too young."

"Sorry, it is so. Back to D-ranked missions."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Naruto's long drawn out, melodramatic shout echoed throughout the sky, scattering the birds as Goten stood smiling in blissful ignorance.

"What's a D-rank?"

* * *

XxX

 **New**

 **Kids**

 **On**

 **the**

 **Block**

XxX

* * *

Hours later into the day and the newly formed quadruple team were sauntering or trudging (if they were Sakura and Naruto) through an alley after completing the last of their mundane household-like assignments, with the term household being supplied literally instead of the usual loosely. D-ranks were little more than glorified chores Goten related to the tasks his mom would get him to do in order to earn his pocket charge.

"I thought you said that was fun," He recalled, pouting slightly.

"It wasn't supposed to be!" Naruto argued, flabbergasted, "It was meant to be hell! How can you find any of that crap fun?"

Goten laid a finger on his cheek thoughtfully, "Hm. You said it was hard."

"Yeah, 'cause it was."

"Hard is fun, and that wasn't fun."

Naruto stared, jaw falling wordlessly and eyes bulging, "Gah! C'mon!"

"Give it a rest, Naruto," Sasuke demanded, hands still stabbed into his pockets, "At least you didn't have to walk that damned dog that you pulled into a minefield last time."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto brightened. At least that was one bright note to write home about regarding their return to grunt work. Since Goten was physically the strongest among them he drew the proverbial long tail of dogs by default, though he made light work out of walking such a bloated dog while his other teammates walked puppies by comparison. The dog possessed neither the strength or the will to drag Goten around like he had done to Naruto prior a week ago.

As previously documented by Goten's fellow peers, he had a natural way with animals and adorably displayed his superior soothing skills to charm the dog, leaving him docile for the entire walk. By the conclusion of his calming exercise, the dog was sure to reward Goten, smothering his face with licks, eliciting the most adorable laughs from him from Sakura's perspective.

She didn't know how much more 'Aw's she would have to left spend on him after that cute show of innocence.

A distinct scoff of disgust hissing from Sasuke's mouth ignited Naruto's temper.

"Tch. Idiot."

"What was that?!"

While the two hot heads dissolved into a back-and-forth altercation of words, Sakura sighed and approached Goten who was watching the two go at it blankly, "Now that we're done with chores for the day," She quipped, gaining his dumbfounded attention with a welcoming smile, "What do you want to now, Goten?"

He needed a second to consider his desires before realizing he had none, "I don't know!" He smiled, eliciting an awkward grin from her in return.

Kakashi spit-balled out suggestions, "I don't recall seeing a travel pack on either you or Trunks when we first encountered you." He hinted, getting a curious blink from Goten, "Would it be safe to assume the clothes you're wearing are the only things you have to wear?"

"Oh, right." A rare frown coloured Goten's face. "Mom didn't get the chance to pack me a change of clothes."

Kakashi, bearing the full weight of the hidden meaning behind Goten's seemingly minor disappointment from the story of the whole Buu ordeal from Trunks, merely nodded in grim understanding. Sakura was bright enough to see the turmoil he had instinctively repressed under the guise of mere disappointment as if he was rushed out from his homeland to the Elemental Nations and chose not to comment on it. It also helped that she remembered Trunks' explicit reluctance to reveal the place of their origins.

Bearing that and Goten's noncommittal innuendo left zero doubt in Sakura's mind that the boys had a story to tell, one that was likely grim and dark and left them scarred psychologically for them to be so guarded.

"Well then, it's settled!" Sakura assured, looking awfully proud of herself as she fixated her hands on her hips, "You and I are going clothes shopping, Goten."

The warm, luminous glow of Goten's eyes returned in full, "Wow. You would do that for me?"

She flashed him the peace sign of reassurance, "Sure." She tipped him a cheeky tongue. "We are teammates, you know?"

"Thank you, Sakura."

With all the appreciation of a fatherly-figure watching his two underlings having the other's back, Kakashi tittered kindly, 'Glad to see two of them getting along well enough.' He moved, switching gazes from the cooperative duo of Goten and Sakura, to the still squabbling pair of hostility in Sasuke and Naruto, smiley expression dropping flatly, 'Now if only those two could get along they might make a good team.'

If only Naruto would also stop harassing Sakura for her affection they could begin making progress to perfecting their team coordination, Kakashi couldn't forget their issues hindering their advancement of a team either. The sooner Naruto eases on his harassment of her the quicker would her animosity wane.

"Run along you two," Kakashi told them, "I have to stop by Lord Hokage's office and run him through an idea of mine."

They didn't question what idea Kakashi needed to run through Hiruzen first before setting into motion with their plans for the day ahead, just concluding it was something confidential between grown-ups and bid him a farewell, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to their argument they had forgotten was all about and set out on their way.

As they walked at a relaxed pace, Sakura thought it best to strike up a conversation. She was careful to avoid prying into his personal life beyond the Elemental Nations, though, "So, Goten." She began, throwing him a pleasant smile, "How are you finding Konoha? Are you settling in alright?"

"It's kind of scary," He admitted, laughing sheepishly, "Everyone's been really nice though."

She nodded, contentment settling in her leaf-green eyes, "That's good," A thought occurred to her, bottom lip lightly jutting out in curiosity, "Say, where are you staying?"

Goten looked at her from out of his peripherals, "With Naruto. How come?"

"Really?" Sakura asked, blinking with surprise blankness. The clarification in the form of a short nod had her eyes hardening suspiciously, "Hey. That knucklehead hasn't been influencing you. Has he?"

"Influencing what-?"

"Never mind," Sakura sighed, offering him an apologetic grin before frowning pensively to herself, whisking her eyes from Goten's so he wouldn't see her concentrated expression, 'It's obvious Goten's too innocent to expect anything bad of that knucklehead.' It probably never even occurred to his naivety that he could be swayed negatively, 'I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen!' She decided, clenching her fist with a firm resolve.

Even if she had to start frequenting Naruto's likely untidy residence given his lack of a proper upbringing to make sure Goten wasn't influenced by any of Naruto's tomfoolery and shenanigans, she would do whatever it took to ensure that adorable little sweetheart wouldn't become a second coming of the bratty nuisance that Naruto was.

The sudden thickening of the air caused by palpable hostility had Sakura stiffening like her nerves were on fire with wary anticipation. Time seemingly slowed to an absolute snail-paced crawl of agonizing suspense as Sakura lifted her head, glancing ahead of them to find two fully-fledged teenagers approaching them by coincidence of the one-way street they were on.

'Who are they?' Sakura asked herself in relation to the sneering teenagers, 'And why are they looking at us like that?' The cloudy mists of wary consideration cleared like a bad day turning worse with the heavy pour of a stormy recognition once they were within touching distance of the pair and Sakura was able to make out their unfamiliar insignia, 'They're not from around here.'

Gaze hardening like steel, Sakura broke their stride once the unidentified duo of a teenager boy and girl had passed them by, and turned, her heel skidding along the pavement like a high-powered engine from Goten's world, "Stop right there!" She said with authority, getting them to surprisingly obey. Either they were smart enough to realize refusing an order from a solider of the village they were frequently could lead to a potential misinterpretation or they wanted to try their hand at intimidating them again, Sakura wasn't sure. She just chose to believe the former, "I can tell from your headbands that you hail from the Village Hidden in the Sands. So, state your reasons for being in the Leaf."

"Have you been living under a rock?" The blond, pig-haired girl of the two asked, wielding an eye-catching fan on her back. She met Sakura's firm glance with a confident smirk that reminded Goten of Krillin's wife before reaching into her back pocket to pull out a slip of some sort, "We _are_ here on official business, official Chunin business that is."

Sakura's resolve died at once, her posture slacking, "Oh." She realized, blankly taking in her permission slip, "We're hosting the Chunin Exams this year."

"Yeah." She said. Her companion, clad in an outfit heavily resembling PJs, a purple-striped teen snorted, accompanying her leave from the two.

Once they were out of sight of the two Goten turned to Sakura, wide doe eyes full of wondrous curiosity, "What's a Chunin exams?"

She looked appalled by his innocent question, though quickly calmed when she remembered he hadn't been a ninja before coming to Konoha. It was only natural to assume he would be ignorant of the ninja system, "They're the exams which Genin, like us, take to rank up to Chunin." She supplied, giving him a helpful smile.

"Sounds boring."

"Uh. I wouldn't say that, Goten."

"Why come?"

Sakura sputtered, unexpectedly flushed in the face as she flailed her arms about as if trying to ward off the question. He took the term exam literally, believing the Chunin exams to be nothing more other than a written examination like the ones he had taken in school. They weren't hard nor fun, and his overall score averaged out.

"Because," She hesitated, purposely drawing out her syllables and almost cringing when Goten's calm expectant look didn't waver, "Other ninja will be competing against each other in a kind of free-for-all style."

Excitement burst within his pupils like a blaze of bright fireworks, startling Sakura, "So it's a tournament!?"

"Uh… Kind of."

"Yay." He raced down the alley like a spirited bird, "I wanna partake in the Chunin Exams."

"Uh, Goten, I don't think it works like that. Hey, wait up!"

* * *

XxX

 **Chapter 7**

XxX

* * *

"Wow!" Goten said, cheerfully marveling at his new clothes consisting of a collared sky blue Chinese top with long, light purple sleeves complementing his light purple trousers. Much like his fellow team seven teammates and leaf comrades, he was also outfitted with the tradition toed dark blue shinobi sandals. Even his leaf headband was now properly wrapped around his forehead courtesy of Sakura. Other than that Goten's new attire was a style honoured after his mother, "Thank you, Sakura."

"You don't have to thank me," Sakura chided jokingly, Goten's orange gi folded over her arm, "I only showed you where the clothes store is. You have to pay mister." They shared a good hearty laugh of solidarity before paying for Goten's findings and making their exit from the store.

"I'll take these home with me," Sakura said in relation to the bundle of orange and blue clothes Goten had previously wore now in a bag courtesy of the store clerk, "And get them cleaned for you, okay?" She finished with a helpful smile his way.

"Thank you, Sakura. You're so nice!" Goten smiled widely.

She rounded on him, holding up two fingers in a V shape as her smile widened cheekily. That was the plan after all. Get a justifiable reason to frequent Naruto's apartment so it wouldn't look suspicious in any way, "I just wish Sasuke would think so too," She remarked in a disappointed tone, cupping her cheek.

Goten blinked, "Why come?"

"Oh, you know."

"No."

"Sasuke can be so grumpy sometimes it's hard for him to lighten up, and," She shriveled, curling her stomach inward and pushing her index fingers together before finishing weakly, "For him… to see… the niceness in me." She positively squeaked out, resisting the urge to cringe outwardly as she was inwardly. That excuse was flimsy even to her.

She thanked her proverbial lucky stars that Goten was too polite to call cock-and-bull on her lie. Him being a pleasure to be around was partly the reason she chose to hang out with him, the main being she couldn't spend time with Sasuke.

"Yeah, Mr Sasuke always has to act like a big shot." Goten laughed.

"Exactly! Though," Sakura's eyes glistened with an intense, lecherous admiration, drooling slightly at the mouth, "That's the coolest thing about Sasuke! Ah!~"

Goten blinked in a dumbfounded fashion, "Um. 'Kay." His brows knitted, 'Girls are weird.'

He wasn't to be left out in the cold of his ignorance of the inner workings of a girl's feelings, however, the funniest distraction he'd had since his and Trunks' fateful encounter with Buu ensuring he wouldn't.

"Halt!" The most generic-looking bad guy had appeared before them in a swirl of leaves. Even his voice bordered on pantomiming ridiculousness. He actually reminded Goten of his brother when he had dressed up as the cool Great Saiyaman in an obvious parody of the blue and red boy scout superhero himself.

"Uh." Sakura blinked oddly, dumbly pointing to the straw-hat clad ninja, "Who are you?"

"Kukukuku." Even his laugh sounded painfully scripted as though it was something straight out of a poorly written movie, prompting Sakura to palm her forehead in embarrassment. Were they really dealing with this? A wannabe cosplayer-potential-Chunin exam participant trying and failing to intimidate them? His whole play was so painful, Sakura almost forgot to assimilate his non- six-styled leaf insignia, "I'm glad you asked, girly. You see, as you probably know already, the Chunin exams is being hosted here in your pitiful village.-."

"And let me guess, you're here to thin out the competition." Sakura telegraphed dryly.

Even though they couldn't see his mouth through the veil over the lower half of his face they could tell he was smirking. His smug expression gave it away, "Precisely."

"Yeah, right." Sakura nodded, sarcasm laced in her tone, "Look buddy, if we're not even entered in the Chunin Exams, so you can just leave us alone, alright?"

Goten glanced over to his companion's renewed brightened light in his perception, 'Wow. Sakura's pretty when she's like this.' He furrowed his brows, wondering why he found the girl attractive just because she was displaying a spine.

He chuckled evilly again, drawing a roll of the eyes from Sakura, "Kukuku. All the more reason to make sure you don't consider applying." He raised an eyebrow at the wild-haired boy's polite smile; the complete contrary of the expectant look he had predicted he would get, "What's with that look, kid?"

"Hi Iruka!" He greeted, waving at the masqueraded ninja he drew a horrified cringe from.

"H-How did you… I mean," He coughed, recovering from his stupor as shifted the tones of his voice from naturally stunned to forced menacingly smug, "Kukukuku! Calling out to your sensei won't save you from me!"

"Eh?" Sakura blinked at her teammate, "Goten, what do you-?" She stopped herself, looking at the cosplayer closely squirming noticeably under her scrutiny, "Hey, you're right. It is sensei!"

The exposed Chunin instructor slumped in a deflated fashion, "Guess the cat's out of the bag now," He weakly stated in his normal voice. Under Sakura's deadpanned look and Goten's peaceful one, his form erupted in a cloud of smoke and as it cleared, his natural dark-skinned scarred-self was revealed, coupled with a flush from being exposed so easily, "Hey, um."

"Um, Sensei," Sakura said, awkwardly rubbing her arm, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what gives? Why did you try to intimidate us with that corny transformation?"

Iruka blushed a brighter shade of red at his disguise being called out as cheesy, scratching his cheek, "I wanted to test you."

"Oh?"

Iruka nodded seriously, "Yes."

"Can I ask why?"

"You may," Iruka allowed, though answered immediately after, straight to the point without missing a beat, "I wanted to deduce if your squad were ready to partake in the upcoming Chunin Exams."

Sakura's heart tightened in her chest and a gasp escaped her lips, "The Chunin Exams," She repeated breathlessly, clamping her hands over her mouth while Iruka nodded, gaze grim, "So then, this idea Kakashi-sensei wanted to run through Lord Hokage-."

"Was a squad recommendation for the Chunin Exams." He held her awestruck stare firmly, "And, based on word of mouth and what you've shown me, even if it was only seeing through my disguise," He blushed over his scar, "I say you're ready."

Sakura's breath clogged in her throat, escaping in a wheezing gasp in speechless astonishment. She knew of the Chunin exams. In fact, it should've been common knowledge to any academy graduate who had at least paid attention to their history lessons. The exams were a ruthless breeding ground that weeded out the unworthy to produce the worthy candidates of Chunin. Careers weren't just hindered, they were straight up _ended_ , either by grievous, irrevocable injuries or even death itself.

A strand of unseen wind inexplicably washed over Sakura's shivering form.

"Yay, alright!" Goten celebrated, cheerfully throwing his arms up, "The Chunin exams sound fun."

Although his confident excitement of the life and death exam was admittedly born from ignorance, Sakura could still only stare in silent admiration at the boy, wishing with all her might to lend his blind outlook of positivity on life-threatening situations, "Goten…" She mouthed, wordlessly. What she wouldn't give to be as skilled and fearlessly self-assured as him. A small part of her was even tempted to sacrifice a limp if it would result in the manifestation of such a unique trait like Super Saiyan exclusive to her.

Iruka tittered, "Oh you," He reminisced as if he knew the boy for years already, though, in reality, he was just seeing Naruto through Goten's posture of brimming optimism, "That reminds me, Goten. I almost didn't recognize you for a second."

He blinked, "How come?"

Iruka twinned two fingers through his ponytail in emphasis, "Because of your hair," He explained, drawing an inhale of realization from the brains of the two, renowned for her high intelligence Sakura, "You were blond when I first met you with Naruto."

"Oh, I see. You must have met Goten when he was a Super Saiyan, Sensei," Sakura elucidated, smiling beside her at her Saiyan friend.

This time it was Iruka's turn to blink in confusion, "Super Saiyan?"

"Uh-huh." Sakura nodded, stepping behind Goten to snake her arms lovingly around his shoulders, fixating her chin on his shoulder, "It's this little one's Kekkei Genkai, like Kakashi-sensei's Sharingan. But, uh, it's not transplanted." She finished sheepishly.

Iruka inhaled, mouth forming an O shape in realization, "I see." He settled with an encouraging smile to the bloodline carrier, "Well, I look forward to seeing what your Kekkei Genkai is capable of if you decide to enter the Chunin Exams, Goten."

Goten saluted him firmly, "Right!"

Iruka humoured his good-natured eagerness with another warm titter, "Alright, see you around you two," He waved, turning on his heel, "I still have to test the other potential candidates."

"Bun bye, Mr Iruka!"

"See you later, sensei!"

The Chunin instructor was politely waved off by the Chunin hopefuls.

When his increasingly smaller looking frame was well beyond their view Sakura dropped her waving arm to her side with an exaggerated sigh of pent-up anxiety.

"Ah! So."

Goten spared her a look of curiosity.

"Um?"

"Do you think we'll ready for this?"

"Uh-huh! Why not?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought you would say."

And hoped too, because Sakura knew she would need to lean heavily on the confidences of Goten and Sasuke to even be able to set foot on the murderous death grounds of the Chunin exams.

* * *

 **Big Leagues**

* * *

(Hours Later)

Sadly, the other Saiyan Iruka tested as per the terms of the rookies' entry into the Chunin Exams was not as merciful or as patient as Goten. The very instance he showed up in his painfully generic evil villain of the week façade he was already flat on his back; the boy having moved too fast for his eyes to track – staring up at the orange-shaded sky, only vaguely recalling the sunset. A brilliant cast of bright tangerine had already blanketed the skies surrounding the village by the time he had got around to testing Team Eight's honed abilities.

Trunks was last and made decidedly short work of the academy teacher, easily materializing before his startled transformed eyes before sending him into the bliss of sweet, sweet unconsciousness with a simple punch to the face, shattering his transformation jutsu in the process.

"Ptff. Maybe I shoulda gone easy on that guy. Nah. He was a punk anyway," The moody half-breed scoffed to himself, slinging a plastic bag coolly over his shoulder. Poor sap. He didn't realize he was essentially offering himself as a punching bag so he could release all the frustration built up over the course of his tedious day.

Apparently, his rank of Genin which related to ninja noobs fresh out of training school, were assigned the equivalent of household chores, missions dubbed D-ranked: the absolute lowest of the low. He groaned all throughout weeding out a crabby lady's garden, cleaning out the river, walking dogs and even snatching some big-headed cat who thought it could outrun him, though once Trunks and his team of mostly annoyances handed the cat back to its owner he immediately understood why it wanted nothing to do with its overweight owner.

Poor thing had the life squeezed out of it by the Feudal lord's wife's obsessive hold.

"What a pain." Trunks sighed in irritation, "Thought ninja missions would amount to more than dumb chores Dad used to make me do." Even if Trunks, by all rights, of being a part of a wealthy family should never have to lift a finger cleaning wise, Vegeta wanted to teach him discipline by having him earn his pocket charge, and his Mom agreed so he was out of luck.

"Guess it makes sense though," Trunks continued, looking up through the canopy of the leaves to the lowering sun, "There's nothing ninja-like about these guys." Which was odd that they would even call themselves ninjas when the most relation they had to the warriors of the night were their weapons. Taking assignments in broad daylight and even dressing in bright colours, it seemed everyone more so embodied mercenaries for hire than ninjas.

Trunks sighed.

So lame.

"Trunks!" He felt his heart pulsing with joy at that unmistakable voice, though expertly masked his startled expression of euphoria beneath a guise of nonchalance by the time his closest friend had made it to his side in a flicker of inhuman speed, tittering cheerily as always.

"Oh, hey, man," The lavender-haired demi Saiyan said greeting.

"What's up?" Goten returned, his perky demeanour varying perfectly from Trunks' indifferent one.

Trunks gave him a one-over, "New get-up?"

"Uh-huh!" He nodded, "Sakura helped me pick them out!"

"That's cool." He could relate. He got Hinata to show him to a clothes store so he could purchase a set of clothes for himself, because he couldn't keep borrowing his roommate's even if he wanted to. Sasuke was such an edge-lord all his stuff were dark-coloured.

"So how's things going with your team?" Goten asked, eager to engage in friendly conversation.

It filled Trunks with an insurmountable amount of euphoric relief having that confirmation that his childhood friend would still seek him out just to tag along for the ride of inconsequential shenanigans Trunks so often takes in his everyday life in their world. That meant in spite of being separated, even only temporary, Goten was still his sidekick.

He could never tell him this, though, just for the fact it was touching on his sensitive side and everything involving touchy feelings always left him awkward and unable to communicate how he felt deep down. Luckily, he didn't have to think too hard to provide a distraction to deflect his thoughts away from his platonic feelings toward his best friend since said closest friend had actually inadvertently provided a distraction himself.

"My team's so lame." Just thinking about his team of annoyances was enough on its own to flip his current emotions from awkward tender-hearted to comfortable irritation, "Seriously. One's a total wimp with the freakiest eyes ever, no pupils or anything."

"Whoa," Goten breathed, absorbed. He tilted his head, "Like pearly eyes?"

"Exactly like pearls!" Trunks nodded, thankful for his friend's wild imagination, "It's freaky as heck. My sensei says it's a part of her Kekkei Genkai or whatever, but I just think it looks weird."

Goten laughed in a blithe fashion, clapping his hands like a seal entertaining the crowd, "There must be lots of neat powers here, huh Trunks?"

By "here" he was explicitly referring to the mysterious realm they were currently trapped in. He knew Goten well enough that the younger boy didn't need to spell out what he meant in blatant statements for him to understand. Cryptic just about summarized the world they inhabited as of right now. At first glance, it seemed to be set in a feudal-esque era studied in history class, but closer observation would reveal the few trinkets of modern day technology here and there. The world even had satellite dishes. Not that the boys were complaining since they could still watch cartoons but it was still jarring all the same.

Trunks sighed in the resignation that none of the world's best powers would even tickle their fighting spirits. Zabuza was a Jounin, a Jounin being the highest rank besides Kage that a ninja in this world could achieve and they defeated him like he was nothing, because in their world, his level of power would be classed as low as scrub. Hell, even the old guy Roshi could've given him the run around without breaking a sweat.

Zabuza, a likely high tier in this world, was little more than an ant in theirs.

It was a glaring testament to the astronomical, oceanic difference in power between worlds.

He sighed at the inevitable fact they were the strongest living entities within the ninja land and as a result would never get a true challenge unless it was against each other, "Probably."

"Hey, Trunks." He spared a sideways glance of intrigue to his fellow partner of unwanted transcendence. It wasn't often that Son Goten, the beacon of buoyancy and positivity, looked troubled. It wasn't like him to be perturbed, period, so him being so definitely warranted Trunks' attention, "Do you think we'll ever get home?"

Home. He was broaching that subject. Understandable. He missed his family as much as Trunks missed his also. Instead of stressing, ripping out the strands of their hairs until they were bald and biting their nails, the boys had come to a silent agreement to go with the flow that their encounters with the inhabitants of the world they were in would set for them, ultimately leaving their desired return to their world to the grown-ups, such as their mothers, fathers (potentially) Goten's older brother, Piccolo, etc. They were, after all, only children. They may have factually been the most powerful children to ever walk the face of their world and now the strongest people period to exist in the ninja land, but they were just that; children. They just weren't equipped to deal with the complexes of dimensional travel nor possessed the mental fortitude necessary to handle failed attempts of creating a portal home. Never mind all the above, they didn't know where to start period.

The only reason they had even coped as well as they had so far was because they had followed their gut instincts and went with the proceedings, clinging on to the hope their families and friends would find a way to get them home.

"Don't know," Trunks said honestly. Even if he was praying for a miracle himself, he didn't want to hold Goten's hand. They both had to grow up and be real about this.

The corners of the younger demi Saiyan's eyes became misted with droplets of water, "I wanna go home."

"You think I don't want to?!" Trunks snapped.

Goten sniffed, "No…"

Trunks groaned in exasperation, "Look, we both have to be tough if we're going to survive here." Mentally, that was. Physically, there was no one superior to them. Trunks didn't doubt for a second either of them could lose in a contest of strength to anyone of this world. They just had to endure long enough without breaking down so they families could rescue them, "Piccolo said the Dragon balls can be used again in six months, right?"

"W-What!?" Goten looked frighteningly mystified by the revelation, flailing his arms rapidly like a jet's propellers, "You mean we're stuck here for six months?"

Trunks mollified his usual impatience to sympathize with his best friend, "I don't like it any more than you, pal," He reasoned in a calmed tone, "But that's our best shot of getting back home! We just gotta sit tight and wait for everyone to wish us back."

Goten sucked in a significant amount of nightly fresh air, chest swelling upward like a balloon before he heaved a great sigh of released anguish, "You're right, Trunks," He accepted, typical easy-going grin spreading wide over his lips, "I'm glad I have you."

Trunks glared ahead of them with a flatline stare.

"Tell me about it."

xXx

The nightfall had already come by the time Trunks had made it back to his temporary place of living. The yellow rays of the sun now concealed from view, dimming the clear blue skies of brimming optimism to a stoic sapphire reflecting the indifference of the pearlescent moon hung in the night sky. Stars aligned every corner of the sky, gleaming with a subtle brightness that reflected the nonchalance of Trunks' stride through Sasuke's compound, looking slightly worse for wear.

He spent the rest of the day sparring with Goten in one of the many training fields situated in the village. Mostly to take Goten's mind off their predicament but also partly to sway his own mind from what he didn't tell his best friend. A downfall of inheriting genius-level intellect from a genius mother was the unwanted tendency to overthink things.

He thought about where they were specifically before Buu's cataclysmic shout ripped it at the seams and sent them here and the differences in time between worlds. Whether that difference still applied even to this world they were in was yet another thing Trunks contemplated, which naturally caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

That was bad for so many reasons.

One day, just one day outside their homeland equaled a year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. They were in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber when it went on the fritz transporting everyone away, so it stood to reason the time flow in the Elemental Nations could potentially be in sync with the former Time Chamber, meaning even if it took his mother just ten days to reach them that's ten years of their lives spent living in the ninja land.

He clenched a fist in agitation, damning his overanalyzing brain to the depths of hell and back. Even that theory, as bleak as it seemed, was still optimistically assuming his mother could construct some kind of getaway with the function to access worlds. His mother, Bulma Briefs, the only woman who could ever tie down his awesome father of badassery to become his queen was amazing for sure, but he was a rationalist above all else.

As such, he would weigh out all potential solutions with frighteningly precision, just. like. her.

The pessimistic truth of the matter was, they could be even older than their parents by the time they reached them. And by that time, would they even want to still go home? Could they abandon the life they would likely come to call home? There were thirty days in a month alone. Potentially thirty days to everyone back on their homeworld, but thirty years here to them.

Plenty of time for either one of them or likely both to come to terms with the fact they could never return to their original home to be with their families and settle down to start their own.

He squeezed his eyes and grit his teeth, guilt burning away at him like acid digesting his food.

How could he tell his best friend, sweet little soft-hearted Goten all this? That there was a high possibility they could be Grandpas even before their parents had a chance to meet their own grandchildren? It would bring him the very tremendous pain Trunks was trying to protect him from.

'Darn it!' He anguished, 'Gotta find a way back somehow.' Only he didn't possess the slightest clue of how he would accomplish that nor a hint of replicating Buu's calamitous scream without ending all life on the planet.

Well, they were desperate to get back home but they weren't going to sacrifice the lives of many just to get a slim chance of returning home that may potentially lead them somewhere else.

'This sucks,' He calmed under the light breeze of the darkened night.

"Hey." He jumped indistinctly to a familiar baritone voice, masking his fright with a glance of nonchalance to his roommate by his side before rolling his eyes ahead of them to face their front door, scowling in thought. So submerged in his own thoughts as he was, he hadn't realized he had made it to their place of residence a good few minutes and was just standing outside on the doorstep looking lost.

Luckily, Sasuke was also too deep within his own thoughts to call Trunks out on his lack of awareness. Trunks instantly ascertained why he was preoccupied when the last Uchiha avoided prolonged eye contact.

They hadn't exactly parted on good terms earlier in the day.

A deafening silence reigned supreme once more between them as a lone breeze caused Sasuke to suppress a shiver. Only the sounds of Trunks rummaging through his bag could be heard in the dead, unnatural quietness shared unwillingly among them.

"Here." A crack in the ice of tense silence was formed.

Out of curiosity, Sasuke allowed his gaze to trace the nudges in his side to a jiggling box and a carton producing splashing sounds, "What's this?" He said, accepting the stuff regardless, scowling at them pensively in his palms as the shadows of the night masked their labels.

"Your milk and cereal, remember?" Trunks questioned back dryly. Ignoring Sasuke's jarred expression, Trunks unhooked the Uchiha's keys from his fingers and opened the door for him, sauntering in first, "Man, I'm bushed."

"Sorry."

He halted before he could get anywhere near the stairs leading to a very much tempting bed, looking back over his shoulder at his roommate who had regained his usual composed look of near ice-cold indifference.

Trunks turned his head from him once more, looking at the ceiling, "Eh?" He toyed loosely with the idea of having an emotional moment with his fellow macho preteen before quickly scraping it. There would be a time and place where they could freely unbottle their emotions, but he decided now and here and especially together was not that time, "For what?" He asked, noncommittally.

"You know what!?" He snapped, tensing slightly.

Trunks sighed, "Don't apologize for that." He faced him fully, holding his perplexed gaze steadily, "Cause I won't."

"What?" His onyx eyes widened in outrage.

Trunks continued before Sasuke could come to any misinterpretations of his seemingly immature refusal to accept they were both in the wrong, "Friends fight." He explained, shrugging at Sasuke's blank look, "It's no big deal. I mean, it would be pretty lame to apologize after every spat, right?" He took Sasuke's silent gawking as a sign of agreement and pivoted from him once more with a shrug.

Before his eyes, Sasuke's perception of the demi Saiyan refreshed to a new light. 'This guy,' Knew just the words he had been unknowingly dying to hear to set his wayward mind at ease. He didn't know why that was. It just was. For the whole day, Sasuke had been sweating in his contemplation of how to approach him without triggering his temper or suffocating from the thickening tension between them, and he just deflected his dilemma away like it was nothing.

He could feel his lips moving to upward curves on their own accord for the first time since his entire clan was butchered, and he had no intention of repressing them.

Sasuke smiled from the bottom of his heart.

…For all of a second before he almost instantaneously masqueraded his hidden joy with a crafted measure of smug satisfaction. True, mutual comradeship gave him great comfort and all, but he was still a traumatized youth unable to truly express himself above all else.

"Hey, big idiot." He snarked endearingly.

Trunks stopped in his tracks, turning over his shoulder with a familiar smirk etched on his face, "Heh, there you are lamebrain. Was starting to wonder where you went."

As per usual, Sasuke didn't waste time with the formalities, "Let's train."

"Heh. Someone's reading my mind."

XxX

(Elsewhere)

XxX

"Hey."

The familiar slothful voice of the sensei of his former students penetrated the hazy canopy of his mind.

"Hey."

He could feel a set of knuckles lightly knocking his head loosely from side to side to stir him from his forced slumber.

"You dead?"

And that was the winning try, a casual joke of dark humour, that aroused the deprived of sweet consciousness Chunin from his mini-hibernation. Groaning, Iruka pried slowly open his eyes, dazed sights making out the blurry image of Kakashi's smiley face hanging over him in a puckish fashion, "Gah."

"Ah, good," Kakashi quipped, usual sarcasm laced within his lethargic tone, "For a moment there I almost thought Trunks had snuffed the life out of you," Kakashi didn't have to be a mind reader to know which of the potential Chunin applicants had left the academy instructor flat out in a leap after rendering him unconscious. There were only two prime suspects, the leaf's newest bloodline bearers themselves, Goten and Trunks. The other rookies, for as talented as they were to be recommended for the Chunin Exams, were still nowhere near the level necessary to laid out a seasoned Chunin of Iruka's caliber.

And since he figured Goten was too kind to leave poor Iruka out cold like this, that only left Trunks.

"Yeah, no kidding," Iruka agreed, dryly. He pulled his upper body to a sitting position, bringing his knees half way from his chest as he combed a hand through his hair, "You were right, Kakashi. Those boys are something else."

"Well," Kakashi paused to offer him a hand up, "They did defeat an S-ranked rogue ninja, saving myself and my team in the process, before going on to complete the mission."

"I believe it," Iruka assured in stark contrast of his unbelieving-self early in the day during the meeting to decide the Chunin exam applicants. Something about getting an ass whooping from the very kid whom you were debating was really as fly as your superiors claimed him to be really had the effect of opening one's eyes. This was the case for Iruka. The concept of a preteen proving he was Jounin-level by effortlessly outclassing a Jounin specialist of Anko's caliber was just too fantastical to believe at face-value, even with the word of the defeated Jounin specialist herself. Seeing was believing and now that he had experienced the high-level of speed and strength that Trunks packed that certainly didn't belong on any average-Genin-Joe all previous traces of doubt of the boys' skill was wiped clean.

"I couldn't even catch a trace of his movements before he was right next to me, knocking me out cold," Iruka relayed, accepting Kakashi's hand. The Jounin could feel him shivering in his grasp as he helped him to his feet.

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself," Kakashi comforted, "I, myself, even felt spooked by the power of their Kekkei Genkai."

Even knowing the bearers of the mystical Super Saiyan Kekkei Genkai were considered more than a match for most Jounins even without it activated, it still caused Iruka to shiver hearing from Kakashi himself, a man _feared_ across the globe for his transplanted Doujutsu he had made his own, that the sheer might of the Super Saiyan bloodline unnerved him.

"Well," Iruka inhaled a soothing breath of calming nightly air, "I can rest easy knowing your squad and Kurenai's won't be in any legitimate danger with those boys on each of your squads."

"Assuming they don't run into other Genin prodigies of equal power," Kakashi nodded, "But that seems unlikely." As unlikely as him even encountering such wonder children under heroic circumstances.

Gifted prodigies like Trunks and Goten were one-in-a-million gems and either finding or producing them were the equivalent of winning the lottery. It was so obvious Iruka didn't need to voice his agreement. He merely nodded.

"Do you think they'll pass the Chunin exams?" Iruka asked solemnly. They were the only two he genuinely believed had a real shot of earning promotion to his rank of Chunin, even if they were the only two he hadn't trained. While all members of the recommended squads did indeed pass his improvised tests, either individually or in Team Ten's case, together, they only reassured they wouldn't either die or suffer setbacks in their developments.

That was what worried him the most when the squad leaders of the rookie teams recommended them for the dangerous grounds of the Chunin exams, them either perishing or suffering detrimental setbacks. Now he was confident even if they likely fail they would walk away from their failures with the motivation to better themselves next time. It never hurt being humbled in defeat either.

Perhaps Kakashi was actually onto something with his offhanded suggestion of them being wiped out of the exams would teach them a lesson. Even in defeat a shinobi could grow and adapt.

Basics 101.

"Honestly, I think this'll be the first time in five years we'll see two Genin promoted to Chunin based on their power alone. They're that exceptional."

"The future of the leaf looks bright, doesn't it?"

Kakashi looked up at the pearlescent moon; its shining surface of dimming luminescence symbolizing Iruka's statement.

"Yes, yes it does."

* * *

 **Man, I love DBZ Kai. I just finished marathoning the Buu saga, mainly because I realized how much I love GohanxVidal. They were so adorable together with their high school hijinks in the Great Saiyaman segment of the saga. I also remembered how much of a fucking beast Kid Buu is. With no fucks to give he caused an** **apocalypse just by cackling loudly then immediately tried to blow up the Earth without even looking at Vegeta and Goku, and even after Vegeta deflected it away he just generated an even bigger death ball like "Stop this, bitch." Hahahaha. Oh man. The Buu saga was enjoyable. Sure it had more few hiccups than the other sagas, but that doesn't mean it wasn't entertaining as all hell, because it was.**


	8. The Eternal Rival and Four Birds

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't Naruto or DBZ **

**Review shout outs can be found on what is technically part two of chapter 8, but to avoid confusion for newer chapters, we'll just go ahead and call it chapter 9. Yes, the chapter was so long I broke it into two parts and BAM! Two chapters.**

* * *

 _Chapter 8_

Hardly a shiver of hesitation remained in any of the rookies following the boost of confidence they received from overcoming Iruka's improvised tests, and even if they were, like in the cases of the females of team seven and eight or both males of team ten, they felt pressured into hiding their insecurity by the eagerness of their other teammates. Although, in the case of team ten it was more appropriate to say the lone female bullied her male teammates into accompanying her into the exams following their sensei's invitation.

They gobbled up the opportunity to flaunt their elegance and powers, eagerly waiting the week out either productively by training tirelessly or lazily, e.g doing nothing.

"We are _soooo_ gonna win this!" Naruto slapped his cheeks twice, squeezing his cheeks inward and puckering his lips to exhilarate himself for the grand challenge ahead to finally prove his worth. He didn't need to think twice about entering, which was beautifully convenient because Naruto hated thinking. It hurt his brain. He snatched at the chance to present his growing worth as a ninja when Kakashi presented them each with an application form the following day of their return to grunt work.

He asked Goten to spar with him for the week and thankfully the kind-hearted boy agreed to show him a few hand-to-hand moves. Nothing too advance, much to Naruto's chagrin (they didn't have the time) but enough to improve upon Naruto's wildly unrefined Taijutsu skill set.

The blond fought way too carelessly, leaving numerous holes in his defences that even a normal martial arts master like Mr Satan could effortlessly exploit. Many times throughout their sparring matches Goten wondered if his new friend in slap-happy was even taking their training together seriously, until Naruto dropped a subtle line hinting at his loneliness

" _How am I supposed to know this complicated kata stuff anyway_?" He'd said in regard to the stances Goten was trying to teach him.

Being naturally sensitive to the feelings and needs of others, it wasn't hard for the demi Saiyan to piece two and two together. Naruto didn't know how to fight properly because he had no one to show him how or even to patiently explain to him why the basics of any great hand to hand style was so essential, leaving him impatiently skipping right to the advance styles.

That was why his Taijutsu style was so unorthodox and in other cases, clumsy.

He had basically made his own brand that lacked in many areas, painfully so.

After learning of Naruto's struggles, Goten resolved himself to redefine Naruto's Taijutsu style by passing down the skills his late mother had taught him. It made Naruto ecstatic to hear someone actually wanted to help him for once and seeing those around him happy brought Goten great joy.

"Right Goten?" An orange-sleeved arm extended forward in offering to the similarly orange-clad boy of titanic might.

"Yeah, we're gonna pass for sure." A similar orange-sleeved slender arm collided against the one already held up in a show of brotherly harmony. Clad in his cleaned orange Gi modelled after his father, it made their display of brotherly support feel that much more genuine.

A light shake of her pretty head had her long pink tousling slightly behind her back, a dry smile working its way across her face. 'Oh, Goten.' The little sweetheart had the uncanny trait to lure out the best in people. Even Naruto seemed much less irritating with his presence, though Sakura could likely attribute her waning annoyance in Naruto to his lack of fights with Sasuke, since he now chose to spend the bulk of his time clowning around with Goten instead of bickering with Sasuke.

And that beautifully avoided headaches for both parties and the forced spectators in Sakura and Kakashi.

It also helped that their light-hearted comradery provided Sakura with a warm distraction from her own depressive thoughts of insecurity of the towering obstacle laid out before them.

She gulped, somehow finding it fitting that the Chunin exams were to take place in the Academy and they were out front where most of the Academy graduates celebrated their liberation from school hell with their parents even midst her trepidation, missing the observant narrow of the Uchiha's eyes.

XxX

 **New Kids on the Block**

XxX

The bubbleheads of the rookie Genin team of four under the infamous Sharingan user himself were pleasantly surprised to see two familiar faces when they entered the academy, both knocked to the ground by a seemingly similarly aged teen barring entry to an elevator with another teen flanked by his side in a crowded hallway.

"Hey, it's Miss Tenten and Mr Lee!" Goten pointed out happily, waving both arms above his head to divert their attention to him, "Hi guys!"

The reaction was automatic. The bun-haired girl traced his voice like an GPS system from his world, clouds of confusion drifting over her eyes to the unfamiliar features comprising the boy's appearance, "Goten…?" She mouthed. She recognized his voice. How couldn't she? His polite mannerisms and bubbly accent were distinct in of themselves, and that charming grin of his was just too infectious not to remember even if it was framed by unfamiliar raven locks.

Well, then. That made things fairly definitive.

"Oh my god, it is you!" She declared, picking herself up from the floor to meet him. She could only assume the difference in his hairstyle and eyes now from what they were when they were first met were the result of a mode he was in. After all, her squad leader had the capability to turn the colour of his skin red so Goten's blond hair and blue eyes weren't totally farfetched.

"What's up?" She approached him, all too inviting and friendly. Whether that forwardness was to embrace him or merely to greet him cordially was left up to debate. Someone thought her intentions were the former because the next thing Tenten knew her path to Goten's warmth was barred by a pair of slender arms and a snake-hipped body, bent at the waist to cover him. The angle accentuated the girl's developing curves.

"What the-?"

"Back off, sister," Sakura demanded, bringing varying reactions from her teammates at her defensive nature of Goten. Naruto, predictably, winced, feeling anxious. Goten once more felt charmed by Sakura's forward tenacity as he silently stared; enticed, and Sasuke simply lifted a questioning eyebrow, hope bubbling within his stomach.

"Ah," Tenten uttered, appalled, "Geez, give me a break. I just wanted to say hello to him!"

Like a block of ice, Sakura's uncompromising stance didn't melt, "Then you can do it where you are."

"Geez! You're being ridiculous!"

"Says you!"

"Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Sakura evasively deflected the accusation with an immature stick of her tongue, arousing another appalled groan from the girl.

"Don't worry, ladies! Naruto's here!" Naruto threw himself in between the glaring kunoichis, offering himself like a prostitute.

He recoiled horribly at the darkened daggers of death the arguing females glared at him with, "Stay out of it!" They demanded in unison.

He resigned himself to a small space just a little away from the crowd on the wall, plated forehead resting depressively against its surface with an arm pinned above it. An all-encompassing shadow of comical despondency engulfed Naruto as though the lights in his perspective were turned out, leaving only a minimized fraction of the source of luminescence shining dimly around him, the portrait of over-exaggerated self-wallowing.

"Why always him…?" He moaned. Sasuke looked over his exaggerating teammate with a dry, deadpanned stare before sighing with a shake of the head.

Grinning sheepishly at his envious roommate, Goten neatly slip from under Sakura's protective web like the ninja he now was, leaving the girls to their stare down as he made his way over to the other member of team nine he met prior a week ago, "Hi, Mr Lee!"

"Ah, Mr Goten!" Lee greeted back with identical formality, raising a trembling fist of barely contained enthusiasm, "My eternal rival!" Twin flames of explosive passion ignited in his eyes, eliciting a dumbfounded blink from the boy who the fired up Taijutsu specialist had declared was his rival of all time so spontaneously. Beside Goten's self-proclaimed rival, a boy with eyes familiarly described as pearly, smirked, closing his pupiless pearlescent orbs in amused content.

An instinctual shiver crawling down her spine from Lee's eccentric antics caused Tenten to immediately disengage from her stare off with the pink-haired kunoichi, the topic of their argument a thing of the past, "Lee…"

Lee didn't listen. Either you were joining him in his declaration of the joys of youth, or boasting his dramatics, Lee wouldn't hear a word otherwise, "Ever since my defeat to you I have been stricken with a new resolve to right the wrongs of my shortcomings, I am a fresh green leaf grown from the springtime of youth!" He incited, proudly. Everyone outside his own circle of friends (or comrades) and Goten could only goggle bizarrely at his overzealous proclamation of rivalry. Even the two "kids" blocking entry to the lift stopped their bullying charade to gawk at the eccentric youth.

'Uh, okay,' Sakura mused in a deadpan, 'What a weirdo.'

'This is our competition. What a total loser,' Sasuke deadpanned with an frowning face.

'Man, Lee freaks me out,' Naruto stated with a mental shiver.

'Wow, Lee's so cool,' Goten grinned widely, the only one beside Lee's teammates not absolutely weirded out by the latter's theatrics. He was the only one there who found Lee's emotional display of pride enjoyable in an endearing manner, since Lee's dramatic behaviour of an honourable rivalry once more reminded him of his older brother's Superman satire. Tenten tolerated them with a dreary groan and the moon-eyed boy was already far too accustomed to his teammate's quirks to really be bothered by them anymore.

One could say he even looked amused by them.

"If we happen to meet on the battlefield," Lee paused to hold Goten's blank look of innocence grimly like he was discussing a life and death matter, "I pledge to overcome you even if it takes my last breath, and if I cannot do that then I will do one hundred laps around Konoha! And if I cannot do that, I will do three hundred push-ups on my thumbs! And if I cannot-."

"Lee, give it a rest already!" Tenten demanded, putting an abrupt and definitive stop to that train of ever-lasting vows before they ever got going. Once Lee got started on his endless marathon of regime pledge after pledge he usually didn't stop even after the cows turned in for the night let alone returned home. The proverbial spotlight was passed over to her, making her shrink in on herself at the sudden attention. She ducked her head, grumbling to herself, "This is so embarrassing."

"He," Naruto balked, and lifted a hesitating index finger to the spandex clad teen of eccentricity, "Isn't really serious about doing all that crap, is he?"

Tenten sighed, glowering at Lee in a warning fashion. The Taijutsu specialist whimpered, but otherwise complied as he adorably twiddled with his thumbs, "You don't know the half of it," She said, situating her hands on her hips. She mentally kicked herself for even admitting this much, "That's Lee taking it easy."

Naruto paled, glancing over to the identified workhorse in a renewed, terrified light, 'Man, and I thought I worked hard, but this guy,' Made him look like a lazy chump on the level of the slothful Naras. What an incredible work ethic. If the implications were to be believed, he literally trained every day of every waking hour. That kind of insane near godlike level of determination to push himself until he dropped from exhaustion was both inspiring and terrifying. Anyone who could endure such insane amounts of physical training regimes day in and day out was naturally a machine in close quarter combat, which was where a large majority of shinobi fights took place.

Goten was the only reason Naruto wasn't infinitely more frightened of the prospect of encountering the workhorse on the battlefield should their teams come across each other. Remembering his roommate's utterly casual decimation of both Tenten and her potentially crazy strong teammate brought him great comfort.

'This guy could be dangerous,' Sasuke's eyes narrowed on the Taijutsu extraordinaire. There was no reason why they shouldn't take her word at face value, which especially applied for the others who didn't have the Saiyan boy Lee claimed had already defeated him in battle on their teams. Nobody, not even the seasoned Genin, were veteran shinobi. They just hadn't experienced that much to be cynical enough to call bullshit on Tenten's loose claims of Lee's work ethic, and even if they were, that was all the more reason to take her word for it. Logic told them as shinobi, hiding one's true capabilities so their opposition couldn't plan for them in advance was a beneficial tactic.

Tenten sighed. Even the nondescript teams were looking at hers warily now. This was exactly what they were trying to avoid, bringing attention onto themselves. The plan was simple. They would come in casually, attitudes all self-effacing, and blend in with the crowd so they could catch them by surprise when they faced off. That was why she and Lee let themselves be hit by the transformed shinobi blocking the elevator, 'Oh well, guess the element of surprise's lost now.'

At least their other teammate, arguably the most - actually undoubtedly – uptight of them didn't seem annoyed in spite of her slip of the ball in regard to their real strength. He'd evidently mellowed out some over the past year spent together bonding as a team, "So you were the one who defeated Lee," The long-haired boy said to initiate conversation with his teammate's new eternal rival, his voice cool.

"Um," He nodded, unsure of himself, "Uh-huh." A big grin suddenly broke across his face, "Mr Lee's really strong!"

Lee teared up, sniffling, "So kind."

The moon-eyed teenager smirked in gratitude, "It's quite alright," He assured softly, "I would be lying if I said you didn't intrigue me."

Goten blinked, "Why come?"

"I was made aware of your presence by Tenten," He explained, crossing his arms over his chest. The mention of the girl who had been impeded from him by his teammate caused Goten to look over to her where she gave him a blithe wave, "I was left baffled imagining someone of your skill advanced to the degree Lee and Tenten couldn't even compare could simultaneously be as humble as she claimed."

Goten just stared at him blankly, words escaping him entirely. He had a pretty sophisticated manner of speaking. Far too eloquent for simple guys like Goten and Naruto to follow and engage in. His roommate's ears were actually billowing smoke of clear confusion, "Um." The demi Saiyan uttered.

"Geez Neji! Do you just love hearing the sound of your own voice or what?" Tenten snapped, drawing an amused smirk from the high-class clansman. She shook her head at his smug attitude before plastering a helpful smile, turning toward Goten, "Don't mind him. He's just well-bled," She explained, "He basically just slumped that you're so strong but don't even seem full of yourself in anyway."

Goten blinked, shrugged, then smiled in that joyously carefree way that made him so endearing, "Okay!"

Tenten smirked. He was so fairly bright for one so simple. Succinct explanations were enough for him to understand most scenarios and people.

"I suppose you have a point," Neji conceded, seemingly begrudging, "Not everyone is as sophisticated as I," The pale-eyed youth's gaze locked sombrely onto Goten's blank one, "Say, what's your name?"

"Oh, it's Son Goten!" He beamed, "What's yours?"

"Neji Hyuga," He returned, and, before the conversation could awkwardly die out since they were so radically different, decided to end it, "Well then, Son. I look forward to seeing what fate has degreed for one as skilled as you."

"Um, uh-huh."

How bizarre; were the shared thought of Sasuke and Naruto. They were almost entirely certain they were in for a confrontation with two random big shots wanting to throw their weight around, but instead of a mini showdown they got the most peculiar interaction between Goten and the kids of evidently masqueraded strength capped off with mutual respect between Goten and the only member of the team of undercover average joes he hadn't beat.

That was actually pretty anticlimactic and left an awkward feel from that leftover tension permeating through the air.

xXx

The Eternal Rival and Four Birds

xXx

After their unexpected deviation from a face off, to an outlandish play of the most unusual declaration of rivalry ending with a contrary down-to-earth form of respect going completely against the wacky run of play, the rookie team of four ascended a flight of stairs to head to where their needed to be; a set of double doors at the end of a hallway being guarded by their Jounin Instructor.

Kakashi didn't waste time with any pleasantries, getting right down to business as he caught Sakura's perplexed gaze seriously, "I'm glad you could make it, Sakura."

"You… are?" Sakura enunciated, slowly.

Kakashi nodded, giving her the benefit of the doubt. He was admittedly vague. "Only teams of three or more can anticipate in the Chunin Exams."

Sakura inhaled in slight surprise, "Oh."

"I didn't want to tell you this and have you run the risk of either being pressured or swayed in anyway by the boys to participant, or even to just let them as a traditional trio enter the exams," He explained, tone a calm storm as opposed to its usual lazy insouciance. "Understand? I wanted you to make the choice of your own free will."

Sakura spared a hesitate glance to her teammates. Naruto huffed with a vigorous nod, likely implying he would've tried persuading her to join them given his childish, schoolboy-like crush on her. Goten was caught red-handed, or in this case, red-faced as he smiled sheepishly. That adorable guy. He likely would've boasted her confidence of her own skill, for what little of it she had, made her feel like she mattered so she could feel strong enough to join them in their trials for promotion.

He had been basically doing that for the week even if it wasn't so blatant. He had an admirable way of downplaying his own significance while hyping up others, and Sakura couldn't be more thankful. If it wasn't for his humility and benevolence she probably wouldn't have had the will to even show up today.

"But since you're here that means you did decide to show of your own accord," Kakashi lightened his tone with a jovial pride that lifted her spirits, warmed her heart like she was praised by her father, bringing a tiny smile from her. Kakashi used a moment to look over his team with fatherly appreciation, hands sheathed in his pockets, "I'm proud of you all. I couldn't have asked for a better team."

They were wiggling their tails like happy puppies now. Even Sasuke.

"Now, go in there and show them what Team seven is made of," He stood aside, ushering them past him.

"You got it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto assured. He and Sasuke were the first ones to march with confident purpose past Kakashi, pushing through the doors and holding them open for Sakura and Goten, who both stumbled in timidly after them.

The masked Jounin watched the doors swing shut after being released from the grips of his more ballsy students, feeling like a fatherly bird who had just watched his matured baby birds fly from his nest to experience the world beyond.

"Those kids." He chuckled warmly.

He was sure they would do just fine, especially with a Kage-level warrior in Goten among them.

* * *

 **And onward to part two, or chapter 9, if you want of course. You can take a break if you feel like it. It's not going anywhere.**


	9. A Kunoichi's Sadness

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

Review shout outs

Pt2 - **I might consider this.**

ZFighter18 - **Perhaps, but I really can't see anyone other than Shizune and Sasori who use poisons exclusively and we all know they're not touching them.**

EvilMagicman - **Ah, I'm glad you liked the SakuraxGoten fluff. They're adorable together.**

Guest - **Please, don't exaggerate. It's not that good. Thanks, though. That's still incredibly flattening!**

YeTianshi - **You may get your wish.**

Kingdark - **I always imagined an attack of the nature of Kakashi's chidori to be the equivalent of needles, Goku's worst enemies, lol. But seriously, they are vulnerable when they're just relaxing without the use of their Ki shields as we've seen in Super. It's their shields that make them impenetrable to such attacks of great precision, or even minor ones like in the case of Frieza's badass sniper. Well, I've always considered normal Genjutsu to work by manipulating the Chakra flow in a target's brain, so they will be immune to all Kurenai's sadly. However, though! Ocular Genjutsu I find to be its own brand of uniqueness, able to work without the manipulation of Chakra since it was shown working on people in the era of the Sage of Six Paths before he gave them Chakra, so yh Itachi has a slim chance of victory, because he's awesome. Enough said. All hail Lord Itachi.**

Statess - **You may get your wish**

Greer123 - **Thank you.**

Guest - **Good to hear it. I love Trunks and Goten so I always try to have them act in the realms of their characters.**

joebob323 - **Who wasn't? They're second to only Something Witty Entertainment. They're amazing. Check them out if you haven't already. What they've done to Sword Art Online is amazing. They turned a mediocre show into a masterpiece, breathing much needed life into otherwise bland characters.**

Yung Warrior - **I know, right. Sasuke and Sakura in particular get the short end of the stick in fanfics when really, Naruto wasn't much better than them, not really. They claim Sasuke to be egocentric but the same could easily be said about Naruto. Hell, against Orochimaru in the Chunin Exam Naruto was the one caring more about his petty pride while Sasuke was trying to save them. Like, being a diehard's cool and all, but in Naruto, where strategy's employed it feels really out of place. If it were Bleach or DBZ were pride is a big factor in the narrative it would've been fine but it just isn't. But I can understand the hatred of Sasuke and Sakura, though. Sasuke, unlike Vegeta or Hiei, didn't feel grounded. In a way, it sort of felt like he had his ass kissed. He was hailed as a genius from a prestigious clan that was still relatively talked about despite being dead, had groupies, and was always displayed as "cool" and strong while Naruto was made to look weak by comparison. *I smh.* I understand the need for parallels, but still, it gets a bit hamfisted of Naruto being dorky and bright to be the light and Sasuke cool and edgy to be the night.**

Loser23 - BossBratKurama - ArannaiOokami and Duskrider - **Thanks guys.**

* * *

 _Chapter 9_

For Son Goten, it was hard not to feel incredibly overwhelmed stepping through the gates leading to a world of savagery; a crowded classroom of sorts packed to the absolute brim with kids many times his size, and none of them looked friendly. This pressure he was feeling now was reminiscent of his first time stepping out on the big stage in the World Martial Arts tournament.

Goten had always suffered from terrible stage fright. So many eyes potentially on him, appraising his every move and mannerisms, determining whether they liked him or not based solely on his performance. It was nerve-racking.

"Are you nervous?" Sakura whispered beside him.

He turned his head to her, feeling comforted by the girl's own self-conscious caresses on her arm, "Mm-hmm," He mumbled back, affirmative as he looked down with a shy smile.

"Good, because that makes two of us."

"Sasuke!~" The strangled tension in their shoulders, specifically Sakura's, deflated like a hot air balloon being punctured, effortlessly thinning out the air. The mood lightened with a comic vibe with the appearance of a platinum blonde-haired girl draping herself over Sasuke's shoulders, earning an ire of annoyance she seemed to ignore as she snuggled against his cheek, "Did you miss me? I missed you!"

"Ino-pig!" The dubbed Ino lifted her chin from Sasuke's shoulder, purple eyes hardening smugly to Sakura's dangerous scowl, "Take your hands off Sasuke!"

"They let you in," Ino taunted, not even acknowledging her command, "I'm surprised they even let someone of your non-existent skill in, Forehead-girl."

Clueless question marks danced around Goten's spiky head, "Forehead girl?"

Sakura was sadly too busy squaring off with her arch rival in love to take notice of his confusion to their hostility, sharply thrusting a finger to Ino's smug face, "Mind your business, Ino-pig! If I was recommended it's because I was damn well meant to, cha!""

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetie," Ino quipped sardonically, deepening Sakura's heated frown of red-hot irritation.

"Shut up!" She demanded, "And take your stinking mitts off Sasuke!"

"Why?" Ino teased, caressing Sasuke's annoyed cheek with a deep measure of satisfaction, pulling her eyelid down and sticking her tongue out at Sakura's gnashing teeth of boiling rage, "I'm sure after having two months of nothing but your wide forehead to glimpse at he'll appreciate a real beauty like yours truly."

"Why you-?"

"Great. Naruto's group's here," They heard a slothful groan of an uncaring attitude reverberating from behind Ino, angering Naruto from the contempt in its bored tone. Appearing in Ino's flanks in casual saunters were the lanky and swirly-cheeked youths Naruto superstitiously irritated a week ago, "I knew this was going to be a drag," The skinny one of the two continued, hands slacked in his pockets, leaf headband wrapped around his arm.

"I'm surprised your lazy butt even got off the couch!" Naruto retorted.

"You know what pipsqueak-!" The pineapple headed teen tussled forward as if to put Naruto in his place before his shoulders slackened, "Forget it! You're a waste of energy!"

And now Naruto was glowering irritably at one of the members of the renowned team of three, gritting his teeth as his eyes dilated in outrage, "Why you-?"

Goten, for seemingly no discernible reason considering the hostility in the air, even it was highly facetious in nature, beamed, "Trunks!" The current generation of the leaf's famous trio all shared quizzed expressions, eyebrows quirking to the kid most noticeably with their rookie counterparts and to the outlandish name he had referred to someone as.

"Hey, who's that kid?" Ino asked blankly, giving the wild-haired youth a one-over. He was cute and all, but he definitely wasn't her type. Too cuddly-looking for her tastes. However, amid her deduction of his decidedly low boy-toy values, the flirty kunoichi ended up tracing his happy jog to another kid _leading_ her team's other rookie counterparts, and her heart melted, cheeks lighting up with rosy red blushes, "Oh."

If the wild-haired boy was cute this boy leading team eight was the exact opposite, from his cool, nonchalant expression, to his sharp-edged orbs sizing up his competition and to the way he carried himself, his whole demeanour was to die for, a popular guy every girl aspires to hang off the arm of like a trophy wife and exactly the kind of guy Ino preferred.

Unlike the background boy approaching him, this boy carried himself with an air demanding attention.

While Goten fell in step with his team, Trunks' team fell instep with him. Key difference differentiating the two in Ino's mind and why Goten was just cute like a baby and Trunks was hot like a super modal. He sauntered over to them with his team falling behind him with an aura of superiority conveying leadership, leaving no doubt for argument that he was just that; the leader.

'Ooh la-la, ooh la-la, I think I just found myself new arm candy,' She licked her lips flirtatiously, sighting her new prey of love like a piece of meat. Her arms limply slid off Sasuke's shoulders, much to the Uchiha's relief.

Shikamaru paled, 'Oh man, she's got that look in her eye. Is she really going to poach on that guy?'

"Yo," Trunks greeted, smashing an elbow against Goten's in a show of manly solidarity, smirking at his best friend's perpetually happy face.

"Hold on a minute," The BFFs looked over at the skinny hater of Naruto trembling in disbelief, "Let me see if I got this. You're on Team eight?" He pointed a shaky finger to Trunks, who eyed him dismissively.

"Yeah, what of it?"

He recoiled. Even Choji stopped eating to stare at the unusual team of four, "And you're on Team seven?" Shikamaru asked Goten, gesturing over to the other members of his squad as the wild-haired boy considered him blankly.

"Uh-huh."

"No way!" Ino complained. Even if she was excited at the prospect of having a new boy toy to flirt with it still peeved her to no end that both the other rookie teams had extra members while she was still stuck with a sloth and a wimp, "Why do you get a fourth member?" She yelled, incensed, adjusting a palm to her bosom, "What about us, huh? Where's our fourth guy!?"

Trunks dug out his ear in dry irritation, 'Geez. She's just as loud as the dork.'

"Gimme a break, will ya?!" And Naruto goes, proving Trunks' point by contesting Ino's voluminous, in-your-face, tone with his own, "They had to go somewhere! They're already way too strong for the academy! Heck, I don't even think Kakashi-sensei could beat Trunks let alone Goten."

Trunks lifted an eyebrow to, "Let alone Goten." He didn't like the way Naruto phrased that.

Ino cringed in horror, mimicked by her teammates. A chip even fell lifelessly from Choji's hand, "You're kidding?" Shikamaru enquired, desperately searching all the faces of the original members of team seven and eight for any small hint of a smile or a laugh that would give away Naruto's ridiculous claim of Goten's and Trunks' strength as one big joke, but their expressions remained neutral and natural, "Oh man, you're serious? These kids are actually Jounin-level?"

Trunks quirked an eyebrow, "We're right here, you know?" Goten gave him a cheerful wave but Shikamaru could only stare at the seemingly clear-out wonder boys in silent disbelief.

"Yeah," Kiba sighed, caressing the side of his neck, "Hate to agree with the kid," He stated, drawing a scowl of heated annoyance from Naruto, "But he's right, this time. Kurenai-sensei said Trunks is stronger than her and Akamaru's nose verified," He lifted a hand above his head to stroke the puppy under his chin, getting Goten to beam at Akamaru. He loved dogs. He cherished all animals, in fact.

…Except the ones he found edible, like bears.

Because Saiyans gotta eat something.

"Little guy's never felt Chakra so intense from anyone before," He murmured, receiving rapt attention from anyone not named Trunks, Goten or Shino. They were the sensory team. There was no reason not to take his word as anything other than deadly serious. Their whole gimmick was to identify nearby Chakra signatures and alert each other of possible ambushes while tracking their targets.

Kiba's gaze moved from his content puppy despite the presences of such abnormally potent Chakras to the wild-haired boy in good favour with his teammate, stone-faced, "Akamaru says you have about the same intense Chakra as Trunks."

Goten blinked, blankly pointing to himself, "Oh, I don't use ch-."

"Well, duh!" Trunks hastily interjected before Goten could drop the ball to their wildly different energy source, mentally scowling at his friend, 'Idiot! Don't say that!' Not to say it was a secret they were ashamed of admitting. Far from it. As warriors of the once proud Saiyan race Trunks had heard stories about since he was a baby, they were proud of their power. Trunks just didn't have the patience to go into details explaining their lack of Chakra nor the tolerance to handle their incredulities of their actual latent power. Considering the old leader guy made the usage of lifeforce sound taboo in this world, Trunks felt he was right to suspect others might react with the same incredulity.

There was a reason why he had yet to correct his own team despite numerous instances where they had referred to his awakened energy as Chakra.

The headache wasn't worth it.

Oh well. He had to roll with his hubris now. The spotlight was on him, "He's just a little bit weaker than me! What d'you expect? Of course he's gonna feel nearly as powerful!"

"How was I supposed to know?!" Kiba raged, defensive.

Naruto frowned, eyes squinting in contemplative thought, 'Huh, why'd Trunks stop Goten from saying they don't use Chakra?' He mused, crossing his arms, 'Doesn't seem like a big deal to me.' So they were potentially at risk of dying from Ki-consumption. Big whoop. That was the only justifiable reason Naruto could think of to justify Trunks' reluctance to just tell everyone they used their lifeforce to fight and even that reasoning was pretty weak. Tenten conceded that was pure speculation on her part and that there was no real concrete evidence to prove the dire consequences of Ki depletion.

'Meh, he's probably just being a lazy butt, not wanting to explain stuff like that ass Shikamaru,' Naruto surmised, glaring squinted eyed at the lavender-haired Saiyan, 'Gah, that sounds like him. Guys like him, all full of themselves never feel like they have to put in any hard work. Humph.' He pouted, entwining his hands atop his spiky head, 'Saying he's stronger than Goten, the jer-.' Then realization finally jarred Naruto senselessly like a full powered punch, his arms falling limply to his sides.

He definitively declared himself as the superior one of the two, and it greatly offended Naruto, "Wait just a gosh darn cotton-picking minute!" He demanded with sudden ferocity, warranting everyone's attention. He just ignored Shikamaru groaning, palming his forehead in annoyance as he pointed accusingly at Trunks.

"Eh?" Trunks lifted a disinterested eyebrow, "What's got your panties in a bunch?"

"You!" Naruto clarified, trying to set the boy of brimming arrogance on fire with his enraged gaze, "Saying you're stronger than Goten!"

"Well, yeah," Trunks shrugged, stating as casually as if he was just complimenting the weather, "I am. A little anyway."

"Like hell you are!" Naruto denied furiously, drawing a sigh from Trunks.

"Actually, Naruto," Goten awkwardly tried. For as touching as Naruto's faith in him was, he didn't need to go this far. It was embarrassing. He mustered up a joyous smile in spite himself at his best friend, "Trunks is way stronger than me."

Naruto blew a raspberry, "Quit being humble! You're totally stronger than that jerk, pal!"

"Well," Sakura chimed in, reluctantly conceding to Naruto's point, "He's not wrong. Goten is humble."

"Exactly!" Naruto nodded contently, arms folded over his chest. "He can go Super Saiyan! What's Trun-."

"I can go Super Saiyan." Trunks deadpanned.

"No way."

"Yes way."

"Prove it!"

"Okay," Trunks slid his feet apart, muscles tightening and fists clenching as he reached into the seemingly endless reservoir of his power and pulled, propelling it to the surface in a controlled torrent of swirly brilliance. He inhaled, clothes beginning to rustle in a breeze only around Trunks as his team and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio tensed; the increasing presence of the boy making the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. They could only watch, staring with bated breath, petrified in anticipation at a fiery golden hue circling his feet, soaring over his body like fireworks. His clothes shot up in the force of an incredible aura shrouding his form, allowing Ino a heavenly glimpse at his toned stomach before the aura rushed into his hair, turning it blond and forcing every strand to spike up like an upside umbrella.

"Ta-da." He said dryly, now blue eyes boring expectantly into Naruto's tense ones.

The other rookies could only goggle with jaws so slacked they feared any forced attempts of clamping them shut would shatter them, especially the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and his team who hadn't even witnessed Goten's ascension to their race's legendary first stage of upper transcendence as the brightly lit suit of golden armour accentuated their sheer wide-eyed expressions of gaping astonishment. Except for Shino.

A bead of sweat tickled down his cheek.

"No way."

Akamaru whimpered, ducking his head behind Kiba's.

"He is on entirely different level."

"T-Trunks."

"Oh man, we're not even close to this guy."

"What in the world is he?"

"I wanna go home."

Kiba started, Shino continued, followed by Hinata then Shikamaru and Ino, and lastly, Choji ended with a terrified whimper, bag of chips forgotten as he threw his arms over his head, quivering at the engulfing sensation of the sun-kissed haired warrior washing over the entire room.

And they weren't the only ones affected by the mighty presence of Trunks' power.

A young silver-haired man with a leaf-headband instantly halted in his tracks to them, eyes trembling behind his lenses, "No way…" He whispered, 'I never imagined the leaf had a Genin or two this powerful. I've… I've only felt presence this intoxicating from Lord Orochimaru." He scowled, sweat beading from his headband. He straightened and turned, abandoning his original course of action to approach the seemingly loud-mouthed Genins. That one at least with the strange transformation showed he had the bite to back up his bark.

And everyone knew it.

The bespectacled young man's eyes washed observantly over the silent crowd humbly waiting in the background, picking out the change in their postures and expressions with the reveal of the brassy preteen's power. Just moments before they were glaring darkly at the group of Genin, assuming them to be nothing other than a bunch of brazen brats all talk with no walk, and honestly, who could blame them?

If history had taught the undercover shinobi anything, it was the louder a person barked, the weaker their bite was, naturally compensating for their lack of walk with talk.

That saying couldn't be applied here.

With the reveal of his power, they realized he had a right (or at least a reason) to bask in the spotlight.

"What… is this most peculiar form he has taken?" Lee said in a hushed whisper to his teammates from their place among the masses, the golden glare bathing the room in its glow, banishing the shadows, "It is like that form Mr Goten was in when Tenten and I met and did battle against him."

"Hey, you're right," Tenten murmured, though it took every fibre of her being to avoid shivering from the intensity of the golden spectre, "But then, why does his feel so much more…" She paused to find the right words to describe the potent presence, "Powerful…?"

"They likely have the capability to suppress their Chakra," Neji surmised, level-headed despite the tangible presence practically suffocating the weaker willed applicants.

Tenten essentially pawed at the detraction from the engulfing void of oceanic power swallowing them whole like a black hole. Literally anything was preferable other than coming to terms with just how royally outclassed they were by the unassuming boys shorter than her, "That makes sense." She supported, cupping her chin thoughtfully, "Goten held back a lot for our sake."

"He does seem like the sort to compromise his strength for the sake of others," Neji said, in agreement with his teammate's assessment of their week's prior opponent. "I'm going to check them out." He calmly made a hand sign. "If what we are feeling now is any indication, the flow of his Chakra should vary differently from Son's." A pulse of spherical-shaped chakra expanded from his eye-sockets, the Byakugan signature veins bulging out from around his temples.

"Splendid idea!" Lee crowed, smile dropping dramatically to the absolute spooked expression colouring his former rival's face. Just a look, no more than a glimpse to the beacon of solar luminescence was all it took to shatter his teammate's composure, and considering just how unbreakable his ice-cool stoic mask was, whatever he found flowing through the non-Chakra users was definitely something to be wary of, "…Uh, Neji?"

"What in the world?!" He whispered harshly.

"What?" Tenten asked, concern marring her voice. He looked, for all intents and purposes, like he had just saw a ghost. "What did you see?"

Neji couldn't even begin to describe the blinding phenomenon of what he just found within the two bona-fide powerhouses nor the searing pain he received from just merely glimpsing at Trunks' golden aura, so he just had to be blunt, "They have no Chakra pathways," He said after a moment's breath, the veins around his eyes receding.

The reactions from his teammates were instantaneous like a teleportation jutsu. They gasped audibly, recoiling in sheer bewilderment.

"No chakra pathways!" Lee exclaimed.

"How is that possible?" Tenten followed up, hastily glancing over to the charming boy who had endeared himself to her in a perturbed fashion, 'Goten, just… what are you?'

"I do not know," Neji admitted with composed elegance, gracefully resting his eyes. As a Hyuga, and one that _still_ carried himself with pride despite the unfortunate circumstances of being born into the commoner branch house of his clan, it was his obligation to maintain his composure regardless of any astonishing state of affairs, "I did not see a single tetektsu point within their circulatory systems, only an endless supply of foreign energy," He tensed, "I believe it was their "Ki" Tenten claimed Son insisted he utilized as a substitute for Chakra."

"Uh-huh." Tenten just nodded in affirmation. It was the only thing she could do.

"He… They," He squeezed his eyes, worrying his teammates before he managed to settle himself. "I have never seen anyone with so much raw energy at their disposal. I don't even think Gai-sensei or even Lord Hokage combined would possess even a fraction of the Chakra to match theirs. Not even a small minority."

Even knowing their teammate of uptight and proper etiquette was not the joking type in any situation they couldn't help but search his face for the futile signs of an uncharacteristic smile, and he couldn't fault them for that. It was such a lofty, illogical statement to make of two kids not even trying for Jounin, but much less Chunin with no concrete evidence to prove it. Still, though. They've known Neji for over a year now and were well acquainted with his mannerisms to know he did not joke.

Knowing that coupled with what they already knew of Goten's powers, well, it took no time for the grim futility to sink in their guts. The grim reality of the matter was, the unassuming and brassy boys completely outclassed them, absolutely. Tenten's and Lee's fights with Goten were relevant in this matter considering the boys shared the same nigh eternal void of blinding power and golden-haired form likely of an unheard Kekkei Genkai. Taking those hard facts into account, it stood to reason they could have similar abilities and powers.

Tenten and Lee were left silently gawking at the wonder kids as though they were divine entities taken humanoid forms.

'He really was holding back on us so much. We never stood a chance.'

'What splendid shinobi. Currently, I am no match for them, but I will not concede to eternal inferiority so soon after declaring Goten as my eternal rival. I will continue to devote tirelessly to my training regimes under Gai-sensei until one day, I can stand on equal footing with them!' Lee vowed, a new fire of tenacity erupting within his eyes, bandaged wrapped fist held up and trembling, 'Yes, this I promise! And If I cannot do that, I will train myself until I can, and if I cannot do that, I will do laps around Konoha on my hands! If I cannot do that-.'

…

'My, what a fascinating transformation.' The infiltered traitor of the leaf and leader of the newly formed Village Hidden in the Sound cackled mentally, musical voice purring with sadistic delight. 'It must be a Kekkei Genkai.' His silted, predatory gaze on a phantom imagery of his real pale-skinned-self dilated in demented glee.

That was just preaching the obvious, he chuckled sarcastically to himself. There was nothing else this unusual "Super Saiyan" metamorphosis, if he had heard their loud conversation correctly, could be other than a bloodline exclusive to their clan. In all his years assimilating knowledge on all precious jutsu, obtainable and unobtainable, and even acquiring the former, he had never heard of anything less than a Kekkei Genkai capable of altering one's features so drastically.

The Eight Inner Gates were the closest thing Orochimaru could think of that would fit the bill of an appearance alteration but considering the drawbacks the opening of even a few of the Eight Inner Gates presented, it just wasn't compatible. The form that brazen child took to prove a point to the Fourth Hokage lookalike showed none of the drawbacks that made the use of the Eight Inner Gates so _detrimental_ to the user _._ No noticeable strain or anything of the like.

In fact, the golden-haired boy-wonder flaunted his magnificent form as naturally as an Uchiha or Hyuga activating their own ocular doujutsu, which only sealed the deal for Orochimaru.

Given what he was and what he aspired to possess, a collector of all jutsu, Kekkei Genkais and Ninjutsu alike, his desire for the Super Saiyan mode naturally almost rivalled his lust for the Sharingan, 'I must have it.' He tipped his head, covering his lustful eyes of malevolent excitement with the brim of his hat, soothing his killing intent, 'Be that as it may, it likely won't be easy.'

The golden-haired boy was able to turn away the ire of many shinobi, even if they were hugely unimpressive to begin with. He hadn't even noticed their hostility. None of them did. Neither him or his fellow Super Saiyan clansman or their peers. That was why his right-hand man had even began approaching them in the first place before he turned on the power few Jounin possessed much less Chunin and Genin. So engrossed in their petty arguments, they hadn't even noticed they were being glared at.

Now it was redundant. Glaring hostility had turned into cowering hesitance in the span of a few seconds. No one had the gall to glower at them now.

Only the one-tailed brat of the sand wasn't avoiding them but he was an entirely different can of worms altogether.

'First _Sasuke_ ,' The gender-bent infiltrator decided, pronouncing the young Uchiha's name with sick endearment. He hadn't risked leaving the security of his hidden bases, cloaking himself in the skin of a random no-name Grass-girl just to be derailed now. As tempting as this new exclusive fruit was, he had to show restraint, for the roots of the unique fruit could probably be too powerful to pick from. It could be the Itachi-case all over again.

The deja vu likelihood of his new prey turning the tables on him caused a shiver to run down his spine. To this day, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth knowing he was forced to abandon his plans for the elder Uchiha sibling, even deserting the organization to boot. Not that he ever cared about anyone in that criminal organization to begin with, just having to leave in the untimely manner of which he did after being humiliated by one of the other members was a blow to his ego.

'Never again,' He whispered within his mind with subtle determination, 'This time, I will get the Sharingan!' Likely precautions would have to be made to compenetrate for the presence of a powerful Kekkei Genkai wielder, but that was fine. There were ways of working around strong opposition, after all.

This time, he would get his hands on the Sharingan.

"So?" Trunks asked Naruto in bored expectation. Only the sounds of his flaring aura could be heard in the deafening muteness the great shock of his power had caused everyone.

"So!" Naruto quoted back in return, desperately squeezing his fists in the effort of racking his brain for any lifeline he could grasp onto to reel himself out of the oceans he had landed himself in, "At least Goten isn't named after underwear!"

Trunks' blue eyes widened in traumatic shock.

That did it, abated the heart-clenching tension in the air, and returned the ambience to its original light-hearted feel.

"I thought I told ya to drop that!" The Super Saiyan reminded in agitation.

Naruto turned around, bent at the waist and slapped his rear in a mooning gesture, making Ino and Sakura palm their foreheads while Hinata looked away. Shikamaru, Sasuke and Kiba just groaned, "No you never! You just told me you were dead serious about being named after underwear!"

"Well I'm telling you now, drop it!"

"Make me underwear-boy!" Naruto suddenly found his head caught in the deathly grip of an arm with a set of knuckles grinding into his spiky blond hair, "Ow! No fair!"

"Drop it!"

"Neve-. OW!"

Most of the rookies with the exception of Goten, Shino and Hinata gawked, this time bizarrely as opposed to horrifyingly.

"Great. Leave it to Naruto to piss off the guy who can scare half the room to death." Shikamaru quipped sarcastically, tuning out Naruto's demanding cries.

"He's so far out of the loop he doesn't even know there is one," Choji said in agreement, shaking his head at Naruto's stubborn resistance to relent to Trunks' demands in spite of the painful noggin subjected to his head.

Goten laughed, cheering on his roommate's hopelessly losing battle with a clap, "Haha, yeah! You're the man, Naruto!"

"Noooooooooo!" Ino cried suddenly, startling her teammates.

"Ino, what is it?" Choji yelped.

"It's not fair!" She strongly insisted for reasons she immediately dived into, clenching her fists tight at her sides before pulling at her paled blond locks in frustration, "How can an ultra-cool and hot guy have such a lame name?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

😉 – Sasuke.

The expressions of everyone within earshot of Ino's explanation of her grievance fell dramatically as if they had fallen flat on their faces. Even Trunks and Naruto ceased their grappling match to goggle at her like she had just lost her head.

"You think I'm hot?" Trunks asked, blinking.

"Uh, yeah!" She deadpanned, incredibly forward.

Somewhere deep within Trunks just… clicked. He couldn't explain it. The plain-spoken and overall audacious nature of the girl had pushed all his arousal buttons, causing his face to heat up with several shades of red, "Uhhh." He droned, arms slipping loosely from around Naruto's neck, the whiskered-cheeked Jinchuuriki blinking blankly at his shy behaviour.

"Eh?"

Ino, however, smirked, eyes curving mischievously, "I see how it is," She teased, ignoring her old childhood friend's completely slack-jawed expression and her other arm candy's hopeful look. 😉

Words choked in his throat like an asthmatic attack coming on and his ears pinkened like the leaves of a cherry blossom tree. Jubilation painted Ino's seductive smile to the response she brought from the good-looking boy. He was actually responding positively to her advance, falling into her hands. Refreshing couldn't even be used to describe her relieved feeling of euphoria, especially after numerous failed attempts to wrap Sasuke around her finger, and while she did indeed take the Uchiha's indifference of her as a challenge to overcome the novelty of it all was starting to wear off.

Finally, an equally as cool and arguably hotter guy considering his six-pack Ino got a glorious glimpse of when he ascended to his Super Saiyan form as Sasuke who wasn't asexually immune to her advances. Ino would consider herself insane not snagging at the fish with her hook while it was presented.

She _swaggered_ over to him, hands on her curvy hips, making sure to sway her hips to reel him in, and it worked. Well, she liked to think his complete immersive viewing of her was due to her flirty actions, and while that had a factor in immersing him, it was only a fraction. In reality, it was the confidence she displayed that Trunks found irresistibly attractive.

"Y-You do?" He even stuttered reminiscent of his teammate. Trunks backed up, heart suddenly drumming audibly against his chest and blush brightening, Ino's face inches from his.

"Mm-hmm." She nodded, coyly. A delicate finger of hers setting on his chin caused him to squirm against her, her eyes lulling in smug content. Everyone, excluding Sakura (who was just preoccupied gawking at her rival's basically anticlimactic submission of defeat for Sasuke's hand) anxiously watched Ino bridge the gap between their faces, sliding over to his ear intensely. Trunks could feel her warm breath tingling the inside of his ear, "Am I pretty?"

Trunks stiffened, whole face being eclipsed in a curtain of crimson red.

"Hm, so cute."

'I..' Even in her own thoughts Sakura was fumbling for words, mouth hanging open, 'I don't believe it… I, just… can't… believe it.' She deflated dramatically upon realizing she had inadvertently quoted Naruto, contenting herself to staring lifelessly at the seemingly forming couple, as juvenile as it was. She should be happy, but she wasn't. She certainly wasn't regretful or heaven forbid, _jealous_ of Ino spontaneously finding a new "love" interest to pursue or even disappointed for that matter.

She just felt… empty. It was difficult to put into words ascertaining the great feeling of void that swallowed her competitive nature whole. She; _they_ had been at each other's throats over who got the hand of her teammate for ages now. Even their once close sisterly friendship easily on the level Goten's and Naruto's brotherly love suffered in the wrath of their competition for Sasuke's hand, to the point they, – Sakura, chose to end it so they could be full on rivals of love just recently after graduation and they were assigned to their respective squads.

For Ino to so easily turn her attentions from Sasuke to another cool guy of greater strength (she admired Sasuke like no one's business, but she wasn't nearly delusional enough to fool herself into believing he was anywhere near a kid who saved them from an S-ranked ninja their Jounin instructor couldn't even beat) was essentially dismissing their rivalry as juvenile, and that single knowledge alone cut deep into Sakura, deeper than any blade ever could, making her feel worthless as a shinobi.

In a strange sense, she took pride in her rivalry with Ino, even as petty as it was. She just didn't even acknowledge the infantility, because it gave her something of value, something to aspire to overcome and work toward. Without that sense of competition between them, Sakura seriously doubted she ever would've graduated from the academy top of their class. It was that tangible vibe of rivalry, the need to one up each other, that motivated Sakura to apply herself to her studies, master all the basics of every bread-and-butter jutsu there was, and pretty herself up as much as humanly possible; all for the hope to beat Ino to Sasuke, thereby earning the bragging rights.

Disregarding the popular guy for another on such a whim for superficial reasons not only robbed Sakura of that instant feeling of gratification it devalued their rivalry, weakened her will to continue as a shinobi, and made her question her worth.

Her eyes prickled.

"Um, are you okay, Sakura?" She gasped, frantic tearful gaze peering into Goten's beady eyes filling with concern. In the amidst of her lamentation of her failed rivalry and last lifeline of value being harshly yanked away, he had sensed her emotions dampening and moved from Trunks to her to see what was causing her such overwhelming sadness.

Sakura quickly scrubbed at her eyes, thankful no one other than Goten had noticed her near breakdown. It was a good thing that sweetheart was so modest. His natural inclination to blend into the crowd was what saved her from embarrassment here, "Oh, I'm fine!" She forced a cheery smile. She couldn't let anyone, much less Ino and especially Goten see her cry. She wanted to be the strong one of the two of them, mentally that was. He may have had the power to rival Jounin elites and the like, but that didn't mean he had the mental fortitude to withstand other aspects outside of fighting.

That was where Sakura came in. She wanted to be his bridge helping him across to adulthood.

Goten wasn't convinced. She didn't have to try too hard masquerading any anxiety from his pointed stare of suspicion. She didn't have to try at all. Goten trying to look suspiciously at her was just too cute. Somehow, she resisted the temptation to hug him and thanked the following interruption in the form of a large cloud of smoke signalling the activation of the Body Flicker Technique to divert his attention.

"Alright! Hurry up and settle down!" An authoritative voice boomed through the cloud. An imposing man clad in a distinctive long black trench coat with his leaf-headband wrapped around his head like an bandanna emerged from the smoke flanked by a few nondescript ninjas, one of which were holding a bundle of paper, "It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor, and from this point onward, you're worst nightmare."

He took a moment to let the gravity of his statement hit home, causing the weaker-willed applicants to shudder.

"Now, if you're ready to proceed to the first stage of the Chunin Exam, hand over your paperwork. In return you'll each be given a number determining where you will be seated. We'll start the written exam as soon as you're all seated."

Written exam.

Written exam.

Written… exam.

A weighted fear plummeted to the depths of Naruto's stomach like an anchor.

"What… did he… say… written?"

A flap of paper caused his heart to tighten.

"NOT A WRITTEN TEST, NO WAY!"

xXx

 **A Kunoichi's Sadness**

xXx

A couple of hours later found Naruto _bolting_ frantically through the halls of the academy, producing a trail of debris dust that could be seen from the outside from a great distance as though a demonic ghost was haunting his sorry behind, madly pushing through the doors of his former training roots from his nightmarish adolesance to collapse in a leap on the dirt ground. He rolled, giggled, hugged and kissed the ground in hysterical relief.

"Oh, sweet merciful god! I passed!"

"You mean _we_ passed," Sasuke's dry irritated voice drifted behind him, followed by his shadow eclipsing his downed form of overzealous delight. He groaned lowly, grimacing at Naruto's goofy, overly exaggerated depiction of joy, "Tch, idiot."

Naruto was too much in a good mood to even care that Sasuke insulted his bundle of awesomeness, giggling like an uncontrollable school girl, "I can't believe we passed!"

"Well, we probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for Goten passing the answers over to you," Sakura stated, walking out in tow with Goten by her side.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto flipped up to his feet. "How did you manage to pass me the answers anyway, pal? Not that I'm complaining!" He laughed blithely.

"Yeah, I would like to know too," Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"I just moved over to you and wrote down the answers I got from Sakura," Goten answered blandly, eliciting awkward stares from his teammates.

"But how, Goten?" Sakura asked patiently, "How did you do all that without getting caught."

"Oh, I used Zanzoken."

Eyebrows of pink, onyx and blond quirked.

"An afterimage?" Sasuke asked, getting a nod from the afterimage user, "How's that work?"

"Like this." He insisted, implying he would give a demonstration but then, nothing happened, other than an indiscernible blur flashing from him hazily. His teammates stared, trying to make heads or tails of whatever Goten assured he shown them. He didn't seem like the type to troll others for his own amusement (that was usually their sensei's shtick), so it left them slumped ascertaining just what he did after saying such. There wasn't a clue even hinting to the mechanics of his afterimage technique. He just stood smiling at them in his typical carefree manner.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked dumbly.

"Uh, Goten.-" Sakura tried, stopped, eyes widening to the fading form of the boy before her eyes, "Whoa…" His form solidified, then dissolved like a ghost galloping to the side out of sight before rematerializing to repeat the ghostly dematerialization process all over again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Until finally, his teammates tracked one of his dashing images, gasping in amazement to the dozens of seemingly regular clones of their other orange clad comrade all dancing around them forming a complete circle of ghostly Gotens.

"Incredible."

"Whoa! That's awesome!"

'Damn it.'

Sakura started, Naruto continued, and Sasuke "ended," though he was the only one who didn't outwardly exclaim his breathless shock of Goten's clone-like speed technique, fists clenching tight at his sides and eyes burning with envious resentment.

'Trunks,' He mused, feeling bitter, 'Just what the hell are you hiding from me?'

Goten's posture abruptly changed, his smile widening, "See?" He asked. Sakura and Naruto balked, watching the copies of him dissipating now that he wasn't continuously producing them with great suspense before nodding listlessly.

"Wow," Sakura said breathlessly, "Just… wow." What a speed technique. Just from mere observation she could tell it was leaps and bounds over the Body Flicker technique if it could be employed as comfortably, and as continuously, without delay, as Goten had demonstrated. The Body Flicker Technique wasn't viable in battle for many reasons. On top of giving the user tunnel vision, greatly hindering their perception of their surroundings, it burned a noticeable portion of Chakra. Really, the Body Flicker Technique's best use was fast travel. Outside of anything besides running from point A to point B at a blindingly fast speed, it was pretty much useless.

The Zanzoken speed enhancement didn't appear to fall into that category. "Appear" because it could be Goten's prodigious skill making the technique look simpler than what it was. A probability, but same result regardless. He still had the capability to amplify his speed to levels she didn't even think most Jounins could track much less Chunin, considering his strength already. Most noticeably because, the average ninja could not move that fast. Not without augmenting their speed with the Body Flicker speed amplification and even then, they couldn't maintain continuous bursts of it the way Goten could with Zanzoken.

Sakura shivered, suddenly thankful for the addition of Goten on their team, otherwise she feared how they'd go about combating him if they were to encounter his team hypothetically, and that wasn't counting Trunks either, taking into account how similar their powers were.

Sakura continued staring at Goten as though he was a mystical being from the great beyond.

'Goten, just where did you come from?'

Because it must be otherworldly if kids like him and Trunks could be that strong.

xXx

(Omake)

xXx

Three barely distinguishable Genin slouched through the halls of the academy after winging through the first phase of the Chunin Exam, each sporting headbands with a musical note insignia that held far more value and relevance than their entire three-way existence as a whole combined.

The Genin of the recently emerged Village Hidden in the Sound had to say, for all the big talk and oh-so frightening swagger that Ibiki-poser attempted to exude to intimidate them, he was one big tree-hugging softie. Baw. He sickened the cold-hearted expendables, especially when he looked moved by that loud-mouthed blond idiot's "inspirational" speech when in actuality, he spouted off all that emotional, trivial nonsense to compensate for his insecurity.

Weakest. Proctor. Ever.

They hoped their second proctor didn't turn out as soft-hearted as their first one. She showed quite a bit of promise with her brassy, no fucks given personality, even if she was thrown off her game by that blond-haired turning bastard.

Just thinking of the smug-faced prick who ruined their moment of badassery with the reveal of his powerful bloodline caused the edgiest member of the Sound trio to bristle angrily, "Damn it."

"Calm down, Zeku." The hunch-back mummy of the trio recommended, maintaining his composure.

"Easy for you to say, Dosu!" He snapped, defensively. He looked down bitterly at his balled fist of suppressed fury, grimacing in frustration, "Damn it! That was our shot to show the boss just how strong we are!"

"Watch it, Zeku!" Kin, the lone long-haired Kunoichi of the trio of fodders, demanded.

Zeku blew her off, "Pssh! There's no one around. Keep your panties out of a bunch, girlfriend."

Dosu kept a prolong stare of empathy on his squabbling teammates before straightening, looking ahead of him with subtle determination steeling his otherwise calmed gaze, "There'll be other chances. Particularly, in the second phase of the Chunin Exam." He evidently caressed his left wrist with possessive strokes.

"Damn straight!" Zeku assured, fist raising in vigorous agreement. He punched into a holed palm, smirking sadistically, "I say we screw the Uchiha-kid and go straight for that show off punk!"

"Not a chance!"

"Zeku!" Kin started and Dosu followed up, muffled voice authoritative, "We stick to the mission. There'll be time for revenge after we take care of Sasuke Uchiha as we were ordered, or do you want to disappoint the boss."

Zeku growled, glaring into the uncompromising gazes of his teammates with bitter defiance before the tension in his shoulders subsided, though before he could relent officially, a tap on Dosu's shoulder alerted them to the presence of a newcomer.

"May I help you?" Dosu asked with sickly sweet courtesy, immediately dipping into a bow of acquiescence befalling his posture at the towering metaphorical sight of the "Grass girl" hidden among the masses, "Oh, it is you, milord," His teammates followed suit without hesitation, heads lowered respectfully, "It is time to lay waste to this world of theirs?"

"Oh, not quite yet, dear Dosu." Orochimaru stated casually.

"Of course." Dosu accepted with a respectful nod, "What is it you require of us, milord?"

"The situation has changed, Dosu," Orochimaru remarked, and they bristled, recalling the demonstration of the Kekkei Genkai user's power, "As I'm sure you can imagine." They could. Neither one of them needed an explanation to know of the interference compromising their plans.

"So what now?" Zeku asked.

Orochimaru strolled past them in a relaxed step, arms folded behind his back, "Come along children. I'll show you to your roles." They obeyed, pivoting on their heels and falling in step with their beloved leader, entirely unaware he was taking them to their tombstones, 'Alas, it seems I have no more use for them. It would appear this is the least they could do for me.' Naturally. That was why he used a twisted version of his former mentor's Will of Fire doctrine, to install an unbridled loyalty in all his pawns-, followers, so they would naturally be inclined of their own free will to go to any lengths to please him, even it meant sacrificing their lives for _his_ greater desires.

'I wonder, how'll _they_ flare against the Leaf Village's most renown Hokages.'

He envisioned them activating their Super Saiyan bloodline and holding their own against the famous Senju brothers of incredible power, until he was finished planting his love mark of manipulation on Sasuke. Ideally, of course. That was always the probability of them fending them off until reinforcements arrived, and in the event they do lure in back up, Orochimaru would be forced to resort to simply kidnapping Sasuke and imprisoning him amidst his other vessel-candidates, which would be such a waste; but Orochimaru was a realist.

However, he did indulge himself on his fantasies. They were the prime motivator spurring his desire to possess all jutsu known to man and plunge this disgusting world of barely sustained peace into chaos, so he can stand atop the ashes and enjoy it.

A sinister snigger rumbled in his throat.

The Sharingan and Super Saiyan transformation merged into one body.

How fascinating.


	10. A World that Favours the Gifted

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

 **No review shout outs this time. I actually cut my finger opening a can of chopped tomatoes while cooking. You may think that's not so bad but when you've had heart surgery like I did three years ago even a small cut will have you bleeding freely. Don't worry, no blood got in my food.**

 **Last time - Orochimaru takes precautions to assure all goes according to canon-. I mean, to plan, yes.**

 **This time - All goes according to canon and the mark is branded. Orochimaru now gets ready for his Uchiha/Saiyan hybrid body.**

* * *

That feeling of a colossal let down from the lofty expectations built up from the hype of a persistent voucher greeted the remaining Chunin Exam applicants. A good number still remained, inspired to solider on in respect of Naruto's fly-by-the-pants speech of unbreakable perseverance in spite of the threat of remaining a Genin for the rest of his life. No one wanted to be a wuss, so they stuck to their guns and weathered the storm of Ibiki's suspense and collapsed when he revealed it was all but a test of their mettle.

Now they were really kissing Naruto's ass in the wake of the second anticlimactic reveal of the exam. All that tough talk their ballsy second proctor gave in regard to the supposedly feared Forest of Death, couldn't be backed up in any sense of the word. The Forest of Death looked half dead already, pun very much intended.

Multiple trees comprising a noticeable portion of the forest were axed, allowing light to penetrate the once guarded canopy, banishing the shadows with its illumination.

"Huh, is this it?" A nameless fodder asked.

"Well, it used to be scary shit," Anko grumbled sourly. The only thing intimidating about her playground now was the crumbled ground she was almost a part of. Even the once eerie, chilling winds she found relaxing was abated, "But _someone_ just had to unwind." Even without following her pinpoint glare to the implied offender, most turned dry, awkward smiles to Trunks who was off whistling conspicuously.

Anko shook her head in furious infuriation, 'Damn kid!' If she had been privy to his involvement in this year's Chunin Exam she never would've volunteered to be a proctor. She only accepted the role out of her innate desire to be a big shot and scare the pretenders. It was difficult enough as it was succeeding in her approach after her fellow proctor gave the remaining applicants (which was more than she expected) a prep talk. A shit-talking hotshot made the endeavour impossible.

Anko heaved a grudging sigh to the futility of her wayward motivates and current position. There was no turning back now. She just had to grit her teeth and dig in her heels, and power past it. 'Just remember what Mom said, girl. Dig in your heels and never show weakness, though that's probably why she and Dad got a divorce.' Damn, she needed dingo after this, "Alright, I'll explain the objective of the second phase of the exam, so listen well." And so she did.

The activity of the second exam lit a fire under the stomachs of the demi Saiyans and Naruto, since it was practical and not written. Not that Trunks struggled with the written exam. Quite the contrary. With the high intelligence inherited mostly from his mother (though Vegeta wasn't a slouch in this regard either) he _breezed_ through the test as though it was a pop quiz. No, the difficulty of the first phase wasn't what made the summary of the second phase sound appealing; it was his Saiyan blood, itching to be sated with action that piqued his interest.

Anko's explanation of the second phase seemed precisely like the subscription the good Saiyan specialist doctor ordered, with all teams to be given one of two scrolls dubbed Heaven and Earth and tasked to locate one of the other teams holding onto their scroll counterpart, steal it, and head out to a tower marked on their maps within a time duration of seven days.

A game of hunters in the sport of hunting, essentially. Just the sport a tribal preteen from a warrior race preferred to pacify his innate need to prove his dominance. Games of the nature like King of the Hill were right up Trunks' alley, 'Heh, this could be fun.' He watched their competition entering a secluded booth just outside the gates of the ruined Forest of Death with a savage smirk befitting of his beastly nature.

"You shouldn't have transformed." He heard the monotone complaint of his high collared teammate.

Trunks stared into Shino's lenses dully, "I'll bite. Why?"

A gleam that seemed to illuminate his irritation shined over his glasses, "Because, now that they are aware of your strength, they'll take precautions to avoid us."

Trunks didn't even spare a glance to the other teams beside team seven and ten not only purposely avoiding their gazes but also giving them a wide berth of space. This treatment the equivalent to a V.I.P's that were receiving had Hinata feeling terribly self-conscious, until Trunks' dismissal provided her relieving comfort from her own insecurity, "Pssh! As if any of those weaklings could keep away from me!" He scoffed, turning a thumb toward his chest of vibrant hubris, "Who d'you think you're talking to? I'm the sensor, remember?" His tone dried, eyebrow quirking to Shino's sweat beaded forehead of barely noticeable awkwardness, "I can sense 'em from miles. None of these lameos know how to suppress their energy," He tossed a dismissive hand over his shoulder, banishing any doubts, "Darn. All I got to do is ambush the first group of nobodies I feel, beat 'em up, and take their scroll, easy-peasy. Then we're home free."

"Of course!" Hinata gasped, fingers fiddling with an ornate jar grasped in her small hands, "That was how you were able to find us on the day we met."

"Yep." Trunks clarified, popping the p in his single word utterance to accentuate his lethargic tone. Curiously, his eyes homed in on the small jar in his teammate's hands, "Hey, what's that?"

"Oh, you mean this?" The subtle drumming of her fingers sped up a beat, her already small voice quietening further, "I-It's just, some," She swallowed a lump of timid apprehension down her throat. "Some ointment. In case, we get hurt." She curled her stomach, shrinking in on herself, praying neither one of her male companions would call her on her poorly thought out excuse.

"Okay," Thankfully, Trunks was likely didn't care or was either too gullible. Considering his intelligence and the disinterest in his tone it was most likely the former.

Hinata breathed a silent sigh of appreciative relief, stealing a glance to a head of similar Super Saiyan-like hair shyly, 'I really want to give this to Naruto, but-.' She just couldn't steel her shaky nerves of self-doubt for the life of her, no matter how much she tried. The mere thought of even approaching the orange bundle of strength and vibrant positivity was enough to turn her legs to jelly, compounded by her fear of initiating Trunks' icy resentment. His eyes, freezing to the frosty degrees of contempt the instance they met hers for the first time on the day of their team gathering made it concise that he did not like spineless girls, coupled with the knowledge that he had barely said two words to her since joining the team, choosing to avoid her unless it was to go over team tactics with the others.

His positive response to Ino, a girl with a spine, and how well they had kicked off their relationship further hammered home the notion that he resented her kind; weak, soft-spoken and without a backbone.

Hinata's shoulders felt weighted, felling as though a boulder had been placed on them. Even now, she could see Trunks flicking brief glances to the platinum blond Yamanaka when he was sure no one was looking.

'Trunks.'

…

"Man, this is gonna be such a drag," Shikamaru groaned, slumped over in grudging acceptance. He would kick himself for folding in so easily to Ino's assertive demands if he had the motivation. Yes, even something as motionless as berating was a hassle too much to Shikamaru. He would've tried to resist Ino's commands to partake in this tiring exam but he didn't have the energy to argue with her about it. And there was his paradox. In being lazy and passively relenting to Ino's orders, he ended up tasked with an insurmountable quest based on the low strength of his team. The Nara, while negligent on the surface with his lethargic posture and uncaring attitude, was neither an idealist or an optimistic.

He knew his team flat-out sucked, whichever way one sliced it. No dodging the bullet. He had already come to that conclusion long before now; when they were first assembled as a team, in fact. At best, they were hopelessly inadequate and at worst, downright weak – glaringly so. Sometimes, he found himself contemplating the reasons behind their selection as a team, even if the term "don't break what isn't broken" could explain their generation of their clans sticking together as a unit.

Even if their fathers were terrifyingly formidable as a unit that didn't automatically guarantee they would be too. Not every child of their esteemed parents inherited their talents. That was likely the case for the current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

None of them could duke it out in close quarters unless pitted against another inept hand-to-hand combatant. Choji was the closest one of the three who could even come close to filling the role of close quarter fighter, but the problem with that lied in Choji's inflexible and terribly slow Taijutsu style. That was where he and Ino where meant to complement Choji's style with their clan's signature jutsus.

Shikamaru's shadow would pin their targets down.

Ino would possess them.

And Choji would sock them.

Straightforward enough and easily countered.

For instance, Shikamaru couldn't just hold anyone. Only people around about his strength and Chakra-levels. If he happened to catch someone significantly more powerful than him like Ino's new boy toy hypothetically, he would easily overpower his control and break free.

If Ino missed her shot, her spirit couldn't return to her body for a whole five minutes, leaving her completely vulnerable in that time span.

And Choji's heavy hits were only as strong as he was. They could be tanked, though not easily.

"I was gonna say, 'if we have to do this, let's just go after Naruto's team', but-." He didn't need to finish. Choji's shiver spoke volumes, "If that kid's really, nearly as strong as Trunks, he's someone I'd like to avoid." Because there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of him ever be able to successfully hold onto someone with such a high "Chakra-capacity" like Trunks, even if he had his doubts they even utilized Chakra.

Ino sighed in reluctant agreement of her teammate's pessimistic assessment of their chances, though the mention of her boy toy made her sneak a peek to him. She perked up, watching Trunks stiffen and avert his gaze from hers, blushing up a storm and obviously trying not to look at her, 'Oh. I see how it is,' A smirk curled her lips, her eyes gleaming in opportunity, "Don't count us out just yet, Shika."

Shikamaru met her bold smirk with intrigue. She hadn't bitched him out so it wasn't just bravado speaking.

"I have an idea." She gestured over to that idea.

He followed her trail to team eight. While there wasn't a huge space between the rookie teams like the gigantic berth the other teams gave them, there was still a noticeable gap for the sake of team privacy, 'Oh?' He mouthed, realization clearing his eyes. He coloured his lips with a smirk to rendezvous with Ino's, "I see what you mean."

She winked.

"Yep. We're gonna be just fine."

New Kids on the Block

 **C**

 **H**

 **A**

 **P**

 **T**

 **E**

 **R**

 **TEN**

A World that Favours the Gifted

Team seven nigh literally flown off the blocks the very second they were allowed after being rewarded their Earth scroll, galloping through one of the many gates of the littered Forest of Death. Since Goten was by far the strongest and most versatile of them in terms of abilities, they easily came to the consensus that he should hold on to their mission objective. Goten, being himself, didn't have an opinion and readily accepted, bashful at the responsibility his team tasked him with.

Sakura lent him her pouch as a makeshift scroll carrier seeing as how he never had one and expertly displayed her superior mothering skills to fasten the little carrier above his behind.

They travelled with relative pace with no real haste, no particular destination in mind. They were using the very brief time they knew they had before the real meat of the game began to marvel at the damages Anko explicitly implied Trunks caused to the Forest of Death.

The sight was something to be behold up close and personal. They had never seen so many stumps seemingly floating from the still enormous roots of the forest. They couldn't even see the ground and without any leaves providing a camouflage one half of the forest seemed to be a giant pitfall of endless nothing.

Tree hopping was decidedly out of the question unless they were ready to face the other examinees naturally taking to other side of the forest with enough trees to provide shelter and cover.

Throughout their leisured sprint through the woods, Goten was adamant in sparing intrigue glances of innocence over his shoulder like he could feel a pair of eyes on them, catching Sakura's notice. She was about to ask him what he thought was so fascinating that he needed to keep a light surveillance in their flanks until Naruto's seemingly airheaded complaint averted her attention.

"Man, I wish we could fly. Then we could finish this thing in record time."

"Be serious, Naruto," Sasuke frowned, trying to maintain his cool, "We don't have time to entertain stupid ideas. Once lapse in concentration could cost us."

"I'm being serious, bastard!" Naruto yelled defensively, "Flying's totally possible!"

"Yeah, for pigs maybe."

"I can fly."

"Sasuke's right, Naruto," Sakura said, paying no heed to Naruto's disappointment to her taking Sasuke's side, "If we start daydreaming we could get ambushed, then what?" A pointed glare of her emerald eyes elicited a wince from Naruto, "Mm-hmm." She muttered dryly, "That's what I thought so drop the stupid fantasies, knucklehead. Who do you even know that can actually fly? Seriously?"

"Me."

"Huh?" Sakura uttered, finally taking note to Goten's suggestion, blinking wide eyes of bewilderment to his calm face, "Goten, what do you mean? Can you-?" She swallowed, lowering her voice as if she was about to speak about a forbidden taboo, "Can you fly?"

Goten nodded without hesitation, "Uh-huh! Flying's easy."

"No way," Sasuke murmured with a breathless gasp, unbelieving. He shook his head with as much firm resolve as he could muster up to hold true to his refusal. Goten and Trunks had already demonstrated abilities and feats truly out of this world that left Sasuke feeling humbled and inadequate, as if he was a talentless scrub by comparison. He trained hard, especially within the week of preparation with Trunks, but he wasn't even close to their level of natural skill. He hadn't even felt like he gained any distance on them. Granted, it had only been a week since he started tutelage under Trunks'… questionable guidance.

" _Dodge!"_

But even still, a snail's crawl worth of progress would've meant the world to him.

Surely, they couldn't get that much more otherworldly from here, right?

"Uh-huh!" Naruto insisted curtly and turned, gesturing for his roommate to take the floor, "Show 'em Goten!"

Goten shrugged but did as urged, effortlessly lofting himself off of the dirt ground to the amazements of his other two teammates, coal and leaf eyes expanding with each climb of height their levitating teammate casually ascended over as if trying to match the width of dinner plates. Their heads rose and rose until they could raise no more, mouths agape to their team standing a rough estimate of thirty feet above them on the surface of the very air itself as if it was solid ground.

"What. The. Hell?" Sasuke enunciated slowly, head dropping dramatically, 'What else are they hiding?'

Sakura's thoughts mirrored his, only she voiced hers aloud, "Will Goten ever cease to amaze us?"

Goten rapidly flew around in full three hundred and sixty circles, creating a faint pearlescent donut-shaped hue in the air, "Weeeeeee!" He chanted blissfully, "I'm a little birdie!~"

"Yeah! That's awesome, Goten!" Naruto cheered, fisting the air.

"Goten…" Sakura lipped, breathless as she watched the epitome of innocence perform numerous full circles without a care in the world, her eyes disbelieving, and that wasn't at the speed of which he was circling a small space in laps. Even with all the amazing, otherworldly powers he had like his bloodline and flight he viewed them as toys to innocently play with, not tools to boast about. She couldn't help herself. A smile of admiration crossed her glossy lips, 'Oh, Goten.' He was the poster boy for highly skilled. Strong, but humble.

It was a good example to set.

Goten's ears perked up to a distant windy force rapidly nearing them at a high frequency of speed, ceasing his circling laps to glance in the direction his heightened hearing picked up the raging winds from, "Hm." That just about summed it up too, a huge tidal wave of a repulsion blast heading toward his teammates with ferocity, tearing through the ground like paper and even bending the nearby trees to a curve, "Ahhh! Look out guys!"

He dropped down in front of them, quickly thrusting out his palms, "Kiai!" An even more powerful repulson wave seemingly emerging from Goten's body sliced through the oncoming hurricane like a hot knife through butter, splitting open a wide length of the ground to a massive crevice.

"What the hell/What the heck?!" Sasuke and Naruto exclaimed simultaneously, because what in good god's name had just transpired? They hadn't seen a damn thing. They heard the distant roar of some mighty creature they assumed was one of the overgrown beasts Anko had warned them about but beyond that? Nothing. Nothing at all. Goten shouted and then he was before them, nullifying some kind of wind jutsu that would've otherwise blown them away.

They stared in shock, and that wasn't just at another of Goten's worldly abilities. It was at the furious look he had on his face. Granted, with his doe eyes and adorable face of baby fat, it came off as more of a pout than anything else, but regardless, just the fact he was showing anger for the first time since they met surprised them. They almost assumed someone as laid back and patient as him was incapable of feeling fury, but here they were, looking at Son Goten stomping his feet in childlike rage.

"Hey, don't attack my friends, you big dummy!"

"Goten…" Sakura whispered, still jarred from his unusual irritation. It felt so out of his character she almost felt like she was staring at a different person all of a sudden. She stopped herself from asking who he was demanding, however. A sinister titter provided, causing her skin to crawl.

"My, my," A low, musical voice purred, birthing entrance to a silhouette of unmasked malevolence. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke gulped down a lump down their throats to the shadowy presence of a bona-fide devil even before a grass kunoichi they had missed in the first phase of the Chunin exam stepped forward in a saunter, expression demented in intrigue, "What an unexpectedly unique jutsu you have, child. I hadn't anticipated you would've able to counter my wind release so easily with it."

Goten scowled, guarded, "I don't use jutsu." He admitted earnestly, feeling unsettled, 'She's giving me the creeps. Who is she?' Because whoever she was, she was making it awfully obvious she was a bad guy exuding unmistakeable Babidi-vibes like that.

"Oh!" She inhaled an intake of air, delightfully surprised, "Is that so?" She found the enigmatic child piquing her ever increasing interest and smiled, though all members of Kakashi's noob squad felt how utterly wrong it was, even being polite in nature. The undertone evil intent was there, "You'll have to forgive me. I'm afraid it's been quite some time since I've been in the loop of Konoha's dealings."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked/demanded, narrowing his eyes askance. The decided creepy woman lingered a particularly prolong stare of crazed jubilation on him, eyes glinting with razor-eyed intention. A shiver ran down Sasuke's spine, '…What's with that look?' It was like she just sighted him as meat; the look of a predator lurking her prey, and it greatly unnerved Sasuke.

"All in good time." She assured vaguely.

"What do you want from us?" Sakura tried to demand, though it sounded infinitely more like a plead as she stumbled a step back from the Kunoichi's eerie presence, arms held up to her body in a defensive fashion.

"Yeah, jerk!" Naruto agreed, glaring furiously at the creepy Kunoichi.

"Why'd you attack my friends?" Goten glared at her, "Why come? They didn't do anything to you."

"Oh." The masqueraded legendary ninja of the snakes toyed with his intentions, lofting two fingers up to his lips in a methodically slow fashion, putting the Genin on edge, "It's quite simple really. For you see, little one, I only wish to kill them, and you," He hissed a breathless growl like the snake he embodied himself after, but beyond the brief flicker of the eyes that the mention of murdering them evoked, the wild-haired boy looked entirely unfazed by his voodoo-like spell, 'Oh? He's good. It appears he's not affected by Genjutsu. How fascinating.'

"Why'd you hiss like that, Miss?" He blinked, tilting his head. Orochimaru stifled a laugh behind the palm of his hand. Of all the things he could've focused on he chose the most inconsequential feature he really only did for show. It went to show where his thoughts lied. Definitely not in tactics, "Are you a snake?"

"Oh, I suppose you could refer to I, as such." Orochimaru humoured the boy's wonderous thoughts.

Goten nodded before his eyes widened. It was like flicking a switch, he suddenly recalled the Kunoichi's stated intentions for his friends and scowled, baring his teeth like a baby cub trying to protect his injured mother; something Orochimaru found adorable, "Why do you want to kill us for? Why?" He stomped his feet, "We haven't done anything to you."

"Oh. My apologies, little one," The humanoid snake purred sarcastically, "But I'm afraid I'm cursed with uncontrollable bloodlust." He shook his head in mock-pity, "An unfortunate disease, wouldn't you say? Every now and then, at the most inconvenient of times, I come down with the unbearable urge to take a life. Or two. Or three!" He chirruped almost cheerfully, "Depends on what mood I'm in."

Goten felt sickened to his stomach, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. The ground beneath his feet gave away to the subconscious pressure he was applying to it in his escalating fury of the cold-blooded monster gloating so casually in regard to taking people's lives as if he was merely talking about the weather. Blood heating to a steaming boil, his traumatic perception of black and white morphed the Kunoichi's form to that of a dark-gold skinned coloured imp with the insignia 'M' on his belt and then that of a tall, obese pink blob entity, before it slimmed down drastically to resemble what Goten held as the embodiment of evil.

Super Buu.

'Majin Buu.' His bared teeth elongated into fangs, his rage repressing the overwhelming guilt he held deep in his heart over not avenging his mother's demise at the flick of Super Buu's merciless antenna. His posture tensed, muscles bulging, 'No! Never again!' He assured himself tearfully, 'I won't let anyone die ever again!'

"Oh." Orochimaru said with slight surprise, 'Fascinating. It seems, when the boy's emotions run high his Chakra spikes.'

"G-Goten." The breathless gasp from Sakura jarred him from his deep state of awakening anger, as though she was struggling to even inhale.

With a startled gasp, Goten hastily whirled his head to Sakura's side, eyes tracking her lowered position on the dirt ground on her knees and expanding in horrified panic, "Sakura!" He cried, shakily stopping half way from grasping her terribly paled cheeks. Overcome with worry, curiosity compound him to check on his roommate and concern racked him to no end to find Naruto on one knee breathing heavily, practically sweating up a river, "Naruto!"

His head turned the other way, to Sakura's other side where Sasuke was also on both knees emptying out the contents of his lunch from his stomach in front of himself, "Mr Sasuke!"

"W-What the hell…?" Sasuke gasped hoarsely. He, like Sakura, had lost the colouring in his skin, resembling something ethereal like a ghost as he sat hunched over on all fours, quivering coal orbs of fossilized fear. His body felt icy cold as though he had been standing outside in the snow lands for hours on end, 'That was the worst thing I've ever seen. Just what the hell is she?'

Goten stared in frightened alarm at his sweat-drenched teammates, two of which were scared yellow until suddenly, a dam of enraged fury swept his worry for them aside. _That big jerk_. She did something awful to his friends when she hissed and it caused his rage to bubble to the surface like molten lava. The idea that anyone would hurt his friends for their own twisted reasons and cruel gratification, especially Sakura and Naruto, filled him with an explosive fury he hadn't felt since watching his mother crushed by Buu's heel. They had been so kind to him, ensuring he had a place to stay and was well fed.

The fact that anyone would cause harm to such nice people was a sin that could not be forgiven.

He turned, attempting to incinerate the mean-faced lady with his glare, "You!" He thrusts an index finger at her, "Why would you hurt my friends? Why? You didn't have to do that, you big jerk!"

She looked amused by his show of childish anger the equivalent to a child throwing a temper tantrum, folding an arm around her torso and resting the other one upon it to hold her chin in her palm, "I merely showed them a glimpse of what lies in store for them and you. Your deaths."

"What?!" Goten reared back in shock. "You showed them an illusion of them dying!" He dropped his head, shuddering in his emotional anger. He inhaled deeply, sharpening his resolve and lifted his head, wild-eyed gaze fuelled with intention, "I'll kill you!" He rushed him.

The very instance his knees had even bent to indicate sudden movement, he vanished to Orochimaru's dilating eyes, "What!?" He caught a flash of sullen onyx before his head was snapped back like an elastic band. The shattered metal of his headband filled his ears on his forced flight down the beaten pathway, senses broken into pieces, 'What?!' He heard only the brief flicker of teleportation-like movement blurring into his senses before he was blasted skyward by a powerful blow rifled to his back, forcing bile from his mouth.

Again, all he could make out as his cue to his forewarning of being hammered was a swift burst of incomprehensible speed. A visible wave of air pressure accompanied his body being cannon shot vertically, and again. And again. And again, to the point there was a spider web-like maze encasing the suspended rogue ninja with a dashing blur ghosting all around the web produced from sheer air pressure alone. Orochimaru looked pinned to one spot in the air. Hell, he felt trapped, body quaking from the damaging assaults on his person.

He couldn't move; couldn't even react.

Every blow, far too quick for him to initiate the tried-and-true switcheroo.

Every blow bruised his skin, damaged and even broke a rib, set a tooth loose, fractured his jaw and tore open muscle tissues. It was astronomical. He couldn't begin to fathom how a mere shinobi, much less a child shinobi of the lowest rank possible, could move with all the speed of his former village's most proficient body flicker user yet hit as tremendously hard as his former teammate holding back. It was so unfair and created a truly formidable titan.

Orochimaru couldn't even begin to fathom just how his old village could produce such a warrior with both extremely high-levels of strength and speed. He didn't get the chance. Pain flooded his senses from the devastating flurry rushes that he could only concentrate on the agony just to stay conscious.

"Arghhhh!"

Words couldn't express his relief upon being released from the evidently prodigious boy's barrage. With an aerobatic flip, Goten smashed Orochimaru's head with an upside heel kick, sending him plummeting in a downward spiral coated in a shrouded shell of red-hot heated air pressure.

The ground gave way underneath the Genjutsu-subjected trio of Goten's squad, making them bounce a bit whilst a raising steam of debris dust ascended from the deep crater their tormentor's own body had created.

"Whoaaaaaaaaaa!" Naruto echoed, falling back on his rear. He pulled himself to his knees, reaching forward on all fours; childlike fascination compelling him to marvel at the fairly large hole in the ground his roommate had shovelled with the body of another, "…Awesome. Goten is fighting like that time when him and Trunks were that Gotenks-guy against that Zabuza-jerk."

"…I never realized he had that kind of power," Sakura murmured, though just as quickly shook her head, reprimanding herself for her thoughtless comment. She always knew Goten had skill. That was demonstrated with his inclusion into team seven's line up instead of admission into academy, but due to his humility and easy-going nature it was easy to forget just how powerful that bundle of adorable sweetness really was.

Sasuke stared hard, eyes wide and teeth a grit at the crater, more specifically the power shown to create said wide hole, 'Can I even compare?' A feeling of self-doubt sunk in his stomach. After seeing what the boys from another land were capable of as one against a foe even his Jounin instructor had problems with, Sasuke subsequently viewed Trunks and Goten as measuring poles to which to gauge his own growth, feeling if he could just climb the distance separating their power, even only halfway, he would be one step closer to rivalling his brother's power.

He wasn't a sensor. He could only go off their word and display of which to measure their strength, and since they clarified at Tazuna's that their Fusion technique made them significantly stronger, he felt their strength wasn't as unreachable as it was when they were merged.

…Or at least he told himself that to provide himself comfort even when he felt the mighty presence of their Super Saiyan mode. There was such a stark difference over trying to gauge strength and actually seeing displays of raw power itself, essentially the saying of, "You don't know how incredible something is until you see it with your own eyes" could be applied in this context.

Sasuke's confidence was shot to hell.

"How!?" Orochimaru rasped, foaming at the mouth with extended eyes of demented bewilderment, 'How can a mere _child_ have such power!?' He could shred his skin so all wasn't lost yet, but even still, the boy had absolutely _decimated_ him in so few seconds. A prolong fight of attrition was not to Orochimaru's favour. Not only could he not even track any of the boy's movements, ruling out the use of substitution, he couldn't endure the power behind his punches. He could only shred his skin so times before it depleted his chakra after all.

'I have to release _them_ now!' He decided, painstakingly pulling himself to his behind, 'And take _Sasuke_ while they're keeping that child-monster busy!' The situation had changed drastically, in one short interval of a one-sided clash of fists, and it truly terrified Orochimaru. To think, one child could compromise his carefully laid out plans; madness! He couldn't travel to the Sand Village to kill the Kazekage and masquerade as him to ally their villages now. He could no longer risk it.

With _his_ power, he could effortlessly foil his ambush and intercept him from separating the old man from his bodyguards. The realist in Orochimaru couldn't and wouldn't put pass him. His best and likely only shot of getting an Uchiha body since Sasuke's elder brother was way out of his league was now; the perfect case of now or never.

Under his and Konoha's protection, he would realistically never get another opportunity of taking Sasuke.

He found his young antagonist threatening his path to Sharingan brilliance standing at the edge of the pit he sat broken in courtesy of his fists, childishly stomping a foot and stiffening his arms to his sides.

"Take that, you big jerk!" Goten pouted, "-For hurting my friends!"

Orochimaru grimaced, 'What travesty is this? He's just a mere child, speaking of comradery as if it holds any value.' He knocked his head back, fixating his palms on the corners of his mouth. His young opponent watched him rip open and extend his mouth to literal sizes matching the entrance of a cave in horrified shock.

"W-What?" Goten recoiled, stomach churning at the sight of a horribly pale-skinned man spouting out of the tavern entrance of a mouth covered from head to toe in slime, "Ewwwwwwww!" He slapped his palms over his mouth and nose. Of course, being the scatterbrain he was, he just had to focus on the least relevant aspect of Orochimaru's regeneration, 'He was a boy all along.'

"I will not be denied an Uchiha body this time!" Orochimaru insisted in a crazed tone. He ignored the boy's befuddled expression and instead slammed his palms together, "Summoning, Reincarnation to the impure world."

"Reincarnation what-?" The ground impulsively quaked from under him, causing him to stumble slightly, "W-What?"

"What's going on?!" Naruto yelped.

"I-I don't know!" Sakura stuttered, entwining her hands in an audible clap, 'Please be careful Goten.' Beside her, Sasuke tensed, fingers curling into the dirt below them.

The ground rumbled like the world's largest electric chair and team seven saw a sinister purple glow illuminating the crater their adversary was in, allowing entry to two tall, golden caskets marked with the kanjis for first and second.

A feeling of dread plummeted in Naruto's gut like an anchor, "I got a bad feeling about this."

And so, it appeared the Jinchuuriki's gut instincts were justified. The front of the caskets fell forward, dropping on the edge of the pit to offer the most unconventional of slides ever to send a tremor through the ground, releasing two ghostly figures of living legend that Sakura and Sasuke recognized from their history lessons from their time in the academy.

Sakura gasped, hands flying to her mouth, "Lord First and Lord Second?"

Naruto recoiled, head snapping to her, "What!? You mean like the first and second Hokages!"

Sakura dropped her hands from her mouth to give Naruto a grim nod, and the sullen gaze of the Kunoichi caused the whiskered-cheeked boy's skin to bristle, "Yes, I'm not sure how that person has done it, but he's somehow found a way to bring people back from the dead!"

Naruto whirled back to the armoured Hokages lifelessly stepping out of their caskets allowing the twin coffins to plummet like weights, scowling in agitation, "Damn it!"

"Unless they're imitations," Sasuke offered, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

Sakura spared her crush a look of understanding before shaking her head with a sigh.

"I hope so."

"What's going on?" Goten tried to innocently ascertain just how the ghostly-paled man could summon two lifelessly looking people. It seemed to click though when he pieced together just how… dead they appeared and what they were encased in before walking out in a manner resembling zombies, "Did you bring back the dead!?" He pouted, "Because you're not allowed to do that without permission from Miss Baba!"

"Kukukukuku!" Goten ceased his temper tantrum to stare hesitantly at the man's villainous cackle, "Well, it seems you're smarter than you appear, child." He produced two yellow slips from his sleeves, lining them up with the back of the armoured duo's heads, "Meet the first and second Hokages, brought back from the dead to keep you entertained."

The admittance made Goten gasp in horror, but also strengthen his narrow-minded belief of Orochimaru's inhumanity. In his mind, in his viewpoint, the necromancer was no more human than Badibi or Buu and just as evil too at this point. He wouldn't let him cause any more harm to the likely countless lives he had ruined already. A sense of duty, manufactured from his remorse over not ending Buu when they had the opportunity, overcame the Saiyan boy.

This time would be different.

This time he wouldn't let his friends suffer.

He tensed, growling like a cat ready to poach with clenched fists, "You!"

With a fiendish grin of the devils, Orochimaru sunk the kanji seals within the heads of the Senju brothers, returning life to them, though their complexions were still terribly cracked and they didn't have eyeballs. Just two black holes with little dots floating within them for eyes.

"Now," Orochimaru cackled, thrusting a finger forward at Goten's serious posture, "Get that child!"

Hashirama slammed his palms together, roaring all with the intensity of a caveman, "Ahhhhh!" From every side of him, multiple enlarged roots grew instantaneously, slithering out of the ground in curly waves, "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Orochimaru smirked in absolute pleasure, 'Ah! Such a magnificent Kekkei Genkai.' With it, it was a no brainer why the leaf's village's very first Hokage was considered the **God of Shinobi.** It was brilliantly effective and magnificently versatile, even capable of restraining the nine tailed beasts. Brilliant. Hashirama's DNA was coveted for these very reasons. Sadly, not everyone's body was compatible with such powerful cells. That was why he used children to experiment and ascertain which body was most compatible with Hashirama's V.I.P cells, but unfortunately, most of them died and he was forced to abandon Konoha and his research when he was discovered.

'Such a pity,' He purred, gliding up and out of the crater he was in. Oh well. With the God of Shinobi, even suppressed in power, on his side that child shouldn't be able to get in his way, even with his unnatural combination of super strength and speed-.

A devastating explosion rocked Orochimaru to the core, sending barks of trees flying into his jarred face.

"What!?" He exclaimed, a turning wide-eyed gaze of abject horror to his puppets only to find a destructively bright beam washing over them explosively, tunnelling through the ground for miles before finally, bouncing up and soaring off to the sky where it dissipated harmlessly, leaving nothing other than a long gouged out trail of which it had ploughed through the ground better than any digging machine ever could, "Impossible!"

His following actions were instinctual, even incomprehensible to him, but then again, the occurrence that just played out was something well beyond human comprehension surpassing the limits of what humans, even super powered ones, should be capable of. He _scampered_ , near clumsily scurrying to the exact space that he summoned the undead. What once was a crater was now just a part of the dug up pathway.

"But how!?" He hopelessly asked himself, wild-eyed gaze of unhinged puzzlement searching every speck of dirt frantically for any hint of a sign of even one of the undead's composed bodies reassembling, but try as he might, the terrified snake man of legend couldn't even find a mere scarp from one of the Senju brothers' artificial bodies. The boy's blast decomposed every last speck of them, leaving nothing to regenerate from.

He whipped his head to the boy he now saw in a new light; one that was heavenly and transcendent: something that just couldn't be comprehended by mere mortals thriving to reach his transcendence in deranged horror, "What are you?!" Orochimaru rasped, shiver flying from his mouth.

Goten stared him down, onyx eyes judging him for the monster he viewed him as, fists clenched tight at his sides, "It's over, Mr bad guy!"

Orochimaru's silted eyes widened, realization zapped him even worse than two-hundred volts of electricity, and the fear of legitimately losing the very thing he sought to extend for eternity sent his mind into a panicked frenzy, unable to cope with the startling reality that he – Lord Orochimaru: the personification of malevolence – was feeling fear, and not just the flinching variety of being jumped, but the kind of deep apprehension that made his heart drum audibly against his chest.

He could hear his heart; feel the bead of sweat dripping agonizing down his paled cheek and even air entering his gaping mouth. This boy had the power to achieve one of his many goals beside living forever and obtaining all jutsu: he could eradicate all of Konoha hundreds of times over. Orochimaru knew this to be true even without being a measure of power levels, because only a power capable of evaporating matter could destroy an Edo Tensei much less two at a cellular level.

"Get away from me!" Orochimaru pleaded, though in his hysterical tone it sounded more like a desperate demand than anything else. Goten's teammates were jarred from their state of extended lifeless shock at seeing Goten's vast amount of sheer destructive power, comically blinking and watching this unmistakeable evil man literally run for the hills with his proverbial tails between his legs.

"Eh!?" Naruto uttered, dumbfounded. It was the complete contrary of the pale-skinned man's villainous demeanour. From an imposing big bad to a fleeing coward in the duration of a few minutes, and Naruto didn't know how to make heads or tails out of the revolutionary change in character, "O… kay, then. We win?"

"I… think." Sakura said, also at a loss for words. She flinched to Goten's change of stances, "Goten?"

He wasn't done. Unfortunately for Orochimaru, he wasn't as merciful or as forgiving as his father nor as open-minded. He had a very simplistic view of the world. There were good guys and there were bad guys, and the good guys like his world's special defence force dubbed "Z-warriors" existed solely to punish and purge the world of those very bad guys, to purify Mother Earth of their tainted evil.

The rage lying dormant in his heart from witnessing his mother's death compounded his sense of duty to rid the world of another Super Buu. He slid his left leg circularly behind his right one, bringing his front wrists together and curling his fingers before lowering his cupped palms to his side. A brilliant shade of azure blue materialized in between his hands, illuminating the gawking expressions of his teammates.

"Whoa. What is that?" Naruto murmured in awe.

"I don't know," Sakura whispered.

Abruptly, the small orb within their teammate's entwined hands enlarged, casting a azure curtain of luminescence over the immediate terrain.

"It's getting bigger!" Sasuke noted with urgency.

"Kaa." Goten began, taking a steady breath.

Orochimaru horrifyingly noticed the spike of such power from a large Chakra capacity, hastily looking over his shoulder. The phase 'don't look into the light' immediately came to his mind gawking at the glowing beam within his tormentor's hands, 'This could be bad!' He twirled like a yo-yo, biting down on his thumbs with exceeding amounts of haste before slamming his hands, palms-up, down on the surface of the ground, crouched.

Orochimaru grimaced, realizing with grudging acknowledgement that this was the first time he legitimately prayed one of his collected jutsu would be enough to withstand the explosive onslaught from a power no one man, let alone child, had a right to bear. He was always someone who relied on his skill and wits to get by, disregarding other non-talent factors like luck and determination. If a shinobi wasn't naturally blessed with talent then he likely wouldn't amount to much, if anything, in his career, because the world favoured the gifted.

This was Orochimaru's realist mentality, and that boy charging up an atomic blast of such potent proportions truly embodied his ideals of humans being strong because they were blessed at birth with good genes or ambitions to take what they felt was theirs by any means necessary. So young yet so powerful. One simply didn't get that kind of power from training endlessly, not unless they trained until they were fifty, and even then, rarely.

He was without a shadow of a doubt a prodigy among prodigies and Orochimaru had to swallow his pride and hope above everything that he couldn't overpower his best line of defence.

"Meee."

…Otherwise it surely be his end.

The cratering of the ground beneath the feet of the epitome of talent itself and enlarging of the brightly-lit star-shaped orb in his hands cemented Orochimaru's grim belief of his inevitable death should his last line of defence fail to endure the incoming beam of devastation.

He could NOT die here.

"Triple Rashomon!"

The gates of hell rose up from the ground as if ushered by the devil's hand.

One after the other.

Three gigantic Cliff-sized demon-faced doors quaked the ground with their entry, cutting off direct line of sight between the two combatants. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke gaped at the magnitude of such defensive walls generated from sheer Chakra capacity. Goten, however, didn't look fazed in the slightest, stony-faced as the spherical orb in his hands eclipsed his body.

xXx

(Elsewhere in the Forest)

xXx

Kabuto, having broken off from his team, halted in his tracks when he felt the ground vibrate from under him, turning his head when a gigantic shadow eclipsed his body, "No way." He breathed, staring in abject shock to his master's signature defence, "That's Lord Orochimaru's triple rashomon!"

He scowled, sweat beading from his forehead, "This is bad," He sprinted toward the three gates of hell, "I didn't think one of those kids would give him this much trouble as to force him to use one of his trump cards. At this rate, reinforcements are inevitable." As much as it annoyed him. No one was missing Cliff-sized gates, "Which means we likely won't get Sasuke if Lord Orochimaru hasn't marked him already." He frowned.

That was a serious possibility, especially if he was being pushed to the extent he felt it was necessary to draw upon one of his trump cards to protect himself from his adversary's onslaught.

"Damn it! I have to hurry!"

And Kabuto quickened his pace to his lord's side.

xXx

(Goten vs Orochimaru)

xXx

"Haaaaaaa!" With a war cry, he pushed his arms forward, and the condensed orb humming within his palms cannoned toward the gates in a explosive wave producing such mighty winds, it curled the pointy locks of his hair back and sent his team tumbling in frenzy rolls just from the mere shockwave.

"Ahhh! Goten!" Sakura screamed over the roaring the sweet boy's explosive attack produced in the aftermath of her forced barrel rolls behind Goten.

"Holy crap!"

"What is he!?"

The greatest move that Master Roshi had ever crafted didn't stop for anything, Cliff-sized gates of hell be damned. The signature attack of the Son family of Saiyan wonders _steamrolled_ through Orochimaru's triple rashomon, instantly expanding to mountain-sized proportions to swallow the defensive walls whole like they weren't even there. The violent sounds of crushing metal assaulted the petrified sannin's ears, but no more so than the blinding wall of luminescence looking to engulf him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He rasped in despair, recklessly thrusting his palms upon the enormous blast of death, instantly losing his hands as a searing pain assaulted his brain. There was brightness and then there was darkness; the orb of destruction pressed against his cheek burning away his eyelid, "I'M LORD OROCHIMARU! I WILL NOT DIE HERE! I'M MEANT TO LIVE ON FOR ETERNITY!"

His last words, spent lamenting his mortality, were lost in the great roar of the Kamehameha wave, as was he. Every piece of the once former Snake sannin was disintegrated from the face of the planet.

xXx

There was a pregnant pause; an eerie silence whilst Kabuto looked on in horror to the enormous beam ploughing through his master's most effective defensive technique as though they were no more than mere logo blocks.

"No…" He whispered, a feeling of absolute dread tightening his heart in knots. Time stilled, his frantic running seemingly slowed to slow-motion steps; a million thoughts of anguish spinning around his head like a washing machine on the fritz.

How could this happen?

How a mere Genin wield such power capable of overpowering his lord?

Could this really be the end?

What was he to do without him?

The last thought-provoking question snapped him back to reality and the deafening sound of the explosive wave _roared_ with so much intensity, he fell hopelessly to his knees, gasping, petrified in panic as he watched the powerful winds generated from the shockwave of the mighty blast bend and upheave nearby trees before shooting off to the sky where it detonated explosively, casting a massive shadow over the entirety of the Forest of Death.

"Lord Orochimaruuuuuuuuu!"

XxX

"What the hell?" Anko breathed slowly, staring up in abject shock to the massive shadow casted over an immeasurable length of the terrain.

Just right after a squadron of ANBU had escorted her to three literally faceless corpses to inform her of the potentially suspicious figure in the exam, this occurs. She didn't think she could ever relay the sight accurately unless they had seen it with their own eyes first. It was a view to be behold and to fear; a nuclear blast from the largest Chakra capacity she had ever witnessed eclipsing the entirety of the village. Had that detonated anywhere on the ground and not in the sky, she was positive it would've eradicated not only her, but everything within radius, including the village.

"What freak can eve-. ARGH!" An impulsive but familiar wave of pain flaring up on her shoulder cut her off mid-sentence, though quickly subsided before she could fall to her knees like she usually does whenever her hickey mark flared up, leaving her floored. Wordlessly, she brushed her fingers over her shoulder blade, a tinge of hope crawling in her heart, "Can't be…"

With uncharacteristic hesitation supremely at odds with her usually ballsy demeanour, Anko stretched her neck over to look past her shoulder; just a glimpse, but it was all she needed to ascertain the tremendous relief from the expelling of agony. She couldn't see even a bit of the tear-like markings she had grown used to finding on her shoulder in the mirror.

Which just meant…

"No way… Orochimaru… he's."

Gone.

Gone from this world.

And Anko couldn't be happier.

Couldn't be happier and profoundly confused.

* * *

 **Lemme just say, "SIKEEEEEEE!" With a big Yusuke-like troll face. You didn't think I was actually going to let Orochimaru mark Sasuke and Goten, did ya? Heh-heh. Anyway, Snake-face is DEAD! He's fucking gone and a MAJOR element of canon has been blown out of the waters. No Orochimaru equals no invasion, no search for Tsunade, no runaway Sasuke, no-no-no. Canon goes bye-bye from here folks. Orochimaru, love ya, you, like Dr Jackal from Getbackers, were inspired by the amazing Hisoka but you just had to go, I'm afraid, so yh.**

 **Looking forward to the things to write.** ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°(ಥ ͜ʖಥ)(ಥ ͜ʖಥ)


	11. The Walking Tailed Beasts

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

 **It's happening, folks. Next week, the next upcoming Wednesday, is Ichigo Kurosaki vs Naruto Uzumaki. You read clearly. Screwattack's making it happen. Whether you agree or disagree with the soon-to-be outcome, I hope you can all just sit back and enjoy the show for what it is, entertainment.**

* * *

Goten breathed in an intake of calming air, even it was heavily polluted by the smoke emitted by his family's signature technique; steam from the heated radiance billowing forth from his cupped hands. There was a slight feeling of impassivity overcoming him when the monstrous snake's vile Ki-signature vanished entirely from his senses. No joy or pride over his accomplishment of tainting Mother Earth of an unspeakable evil or even anguish of what his undeveloped mentality could potentially view as a sinful act of robbing a living being of life, even if it was ultimately for the greater good.

There was… nothing.

Not to say this unnatural sensation the usually jubilant boy was experiencing was empty like a void, far from it. He just felt indifferent; feeling a sense of relieved neutrality over doing what he strongly thought was the right thing to do.

Goten was humble and that humility didn't change even now. The feat of ridding the world of a bad guy was nothing to gloat or loath about. It just was, accompanied by the most bizarre feeling of constipation he had ever felt as though he had suddenly come down with a terrible case of diarrhea. Thankfully, the uncomfortable sensation passed with the sound of fabric tearing before he was forced to sit on the reasons of its instigation, which was convenient because the word "contemplation" wasn't even in Goten's vocabulary.

The newly emerged righteous protector of Mother Earth straightened out of his stance, childishly slipping his tongue through his teeth and pulling down his eyelid at the path of destruction wrought by his Kamehameha wave of cataclysmic devastation, "Mmmmmm!" He rubbed it in, banishing the last remnants of immature fury in his heart for the reprehensible creature he vanquished.

He turned, his pouting look of puppy dog annoyance melting into a blank stare of confusion to the bizarre, wide-eyed gawks his teammates were giving him, "Uh." He droned, raising an index finger, "Is there something on my face?"

Naruto pointed a shaky finger to his friend, because there was _something_ on him, just not on his face. "You… You have a tail."

Goten blinked, now suddenly aware to the extra limp carelessly floating above his behind and over his shoulder on his thought commandment, "Hey, my tail grew back!~" And just like that, as effortless as flipping a switch, normal order resumed; his cheerful nature bubbled to the surface, small arms embracing the furry appendage, "Yay!"

Sakura released a breath she didn't know she was holding in, 'Thank goodness.' He was still that friendly, adorable airhead who had endeared himself to her. She hadn't realized it until right at the moment the seemingly animalistic boy was prepping up an atomic blast potent enough to eradicate anyone upon contact. Okay, she was still fairly ignorant to the world and potentially powerful fighters, but she had studied, though. She was relatively certain one had to be a literal God to survive a blast large enough to eclipse the entirety of the leaf.

For heaven's sakes, normal shinobi did not possess that kind of sheer destructive power on the level of a nuclear blast. The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't even see their Jounin instructor mimicking the blast Goten generated - judging by his lack of fatigue – without breaking a sweat, and he was famous, as noted by Zabuza's recognition of his reputation. And that worldly, civilization-ending, one-of-a-kind power wasn't what jarred her the most. That was saved for his near startling change in demeanour.

The way he dealt out justice was almost clinical, ruthless even, but not so much. From the outsider's point of view, he shut down his emotions to drench his hands in the proverbial blood of his enemy, something the pink-haired kunoichi could only relate to a defence mechanism. It was a terrifying thought, to know such a warm-hearted and patient boy could be so mercilessly detached to purge the world of repugnant villains.

It was such a shocking shift in character at first glance, but when she mused on it she concluded he wasn't all that different from his usual easy-going nature. He was still calm and patient, though in that state of emotionless justice-driven intent he just had a clinical edge in place of his vibrancy.

She shook her head to discard the topic, telling herself it didn't matter in the end, that he was still the boy she loved to dote upon even after undergoing a temporary metamorphosis from a bubbly spirit of patience to a detached warrior hell-bent on upholding justice. She'd quite liked playing Mother lion to his lion cub.

"Um." The ability to form words to concisely summarize his absolute incomprehension to the occurrence he could see with his own eyes was lost on Naruto, eyes squinting to his friend playing with his _tail._ Words alone couldn't express just how colossally lost the Jinchuuriki was. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the drawer, never paid even the slightest attention to his anatomy lessons teaching shinobi children from a young age the inner workings of the human body, but he was fairly certain humans didn't have monkey tails!

Naturally, being the blunt scatterbrain he was, he had little hesitation coming right out and saying what their other teammates were thinking, "So, um… Are you a monkey?"

The direct questioning of his species was so surprising on its own that it caused Goten to cease his cuddling of his regrown tail, blinking at the blond's earnest question. Sakura was about to reprimand Naruto on his insensitivity until Goten's bright clarification stopped in her tracks, "Yeah!" He chirruped, eyes lighting up in their typical exuberance, "Cool, huh?"

"Whoa…"

Sasuke buried his head in his hands, 'This isn't happening.' Super speed, super strength, powerful transformation, flight, energy blasts that generated abnormally sized explosions, and a now tail. Trunks and Goten were beyond supernatural at this point; two mystical humanoid monkeys? Just what the hell kind of reality was he in right now? 'This is all a dream. Yeah, a dream.' Hopefully, he could pinch himself and wake up real soon, like immediately, to find he had hit his head and fallen into an unconscious coma during the mission to the Land of Waves, that the monkey boys weren't real; conjured from his own wild imagination he never knew he had.

Honestly, he would take a horrible nightmare over the reality of there being humanoid monkeys capable of such divine power.

 _Pinch._

 _Damn._

Great. Now he would be stuck contemplating how in the ever-loving world did a monkey and a human get it on to produce those powerhouses.

Sakura sympathized with her crush's inner turmoil to accept the mystical reality unwinding itself before their eyes, flashing him a comforting smile, not that he noticed. Even in a world where kids of a specific clan learned – or, used - to shoot giant fireballs from their mouths or another clan who had complete control over their own spirits and could manipulate them to control their victims via a mind control, the possibility of there existing a humanoid animal tribe was unearthly. For as absurdly powerful as a few gifted shinobi could become there was always an element of grounded realism about them, though that could just be their ignorance of the world talking.

Sakura had studied much; it was why she was so knowledgeable and easily the most intelligent of her team. Never in all her seemingly ceaseless hours reading through books pertaining to her village's history had she ever come across a race of humanoid monkeys wielding techniques so ridiculously powerful, they bordered on transcendence. She had never found techniques that strong belonging to any shinobi, period. Not without the overwhelming forces of nature coming with costly drawbacks to the user. Hence lied the missing component keeping Goten from being grounded in reality.

None of his worldly abilities seemingly had any noticeable drawbacks. On top of admitting he essentially wasn't human, Goten had to realize just how out of place he was in a world of relative grounded normalcy.

"There's something you're not telling us," Sakura said bluntly, drawing a confound blink from the object of her nigh motherly devotion. She softened her eyes, offering him an apologetic smile that acknowledged her statement as ominous. She drifted forward, warmly clasping his shoulders as she fondly gazed upon him like a patient mother, "Sorry, sweetie. What I meant is, what kind of, uh, monkey, are you? I don't think you can be a normal one." Hoped he wasn't anyway.

Goten blinked, confusion melting in Sakura's motherly warmth, "An alien."

...

…

…

An uncomfortable silence plunged upon them like a ticking time bomb, Sakura's sweet smile seemingly fossilized in place, containing a hint of annoyance. Nowhere else was the undertone of irritation more profound than on Sasuke's face. Naruto mostly stared, blinking owlishly to the absolute implausible statement given by his roommate, compounded by the straight-face of neutrality in which he revealed his "race". So bizarre. He knew his friend was a bit of a scatterbrain (it was why he got along with him so well), but to so plainly claim he was essentially an extra-terrestrial being not originally from Earth went well beyond airheaded.

"Eh?" Naruto uttered, squinting his eyes suspiciously at Goten in an attempt to pressure him into revealing the punchline; the part where he would let up on the hoax he had tried to pull over on them for the sake of a laugh, but the wild-haired boy only dipped his head to one side in his patented adorable confusion.

"Goten," Sakura said, smile straining. The Saiyan could feel her grip tightening on his shoulders with a subtle firmness and smiled bashfully, "Don't be silly. Be serious. You're not really an alien, are you?"

"I am."

Sakura blinked, palms going limp on Goten's shoulders, "Uh… huh."

The sounds of small titters breaking through the dead muteness like pin needles penetrating a block of ice prompted the self-proclaimed alien, Sakura and Naruto to turn toward Sasuke's eruption of laughter; Sakura in concern, Naruto in annoyance and Goten with a vacant stare of dumbfounded confusion, because the laughter they were hearing and seeing from their teammate was not joyous, it was smug.

For what reason, they couldn't say, and their lack of understanding to Sasuke's spontaneous smug-filled snickers almost made them view him as slightly unstable. It was an odd sight to see Sasuke Uchiha even crack a smile unless it was a smirk at someone else's expense, (usually Naruto's) so seeing him laugh so uproariously was really unsettling.

"An alien? What nonsense!" The Uchiha asserted, calming his chortles to small titters once more as he fixed a hand on a hip, lowering his head and pinching the gap in between his eyes with his other hand, "And yet," He glanced up, the nigh hysterical delight gone from his eyes, "It all makes sense."

"What're you talking about?" Naruto demanded, folding his arms over his chest and squinting his eyes.

"Don't you see, Naruto?" Sasuke retorted, onyx gaze back to their usual indifferent pools, "Think back to Goten's fight with that… _thing_ ," The three original members of team seven all shared collective shivers to the necromancer Goten had just liquidated with the ease of taking a morning stroll in the park. First, it was a girl, then a guy. Horrible. They could picture themselves having nightmares for weeks straight following that encounter, "Yeah." Sasuke's scowl darkened, "Just try and focus on the blasts Goten used on him and his... pawns."

The point flew over Naruto's head, "Oh yeah!" He recalled, face brightening exuberantly, "The whatchamacallit?" He excitably mimicked the stance Goten took to perform his family's signature attack in a manner resembling a little brother wanting to copy his elder brother, "The Kaa-meee-haaaa!" He pushed his arms forward in a perfect play-by-play act of a Son family member doing the technique himself, though of course, nothing came out of Naruto's hands.

"Kamehameha, Naruto," Goten supplied helpfully with a bashful smile curling his lips.

"Yeah, that!" Naruto clarified, crystalline eyes sparkling like fireworks embellishing the night sky in its explosive beauty, small hands curled into fists, "That was awesome! You covered the whole darned forest with that thing, pal!"

Goten scratched the back of his head, falling back into his shell of winsome shyness, "Thank you." He slid his tongue through his teeth, this time in humble embarrassment instead of enraged immaturity, "My big brother taught it to me."

"He did?" Naruto asked, mouth widening agape when Goten nodded, "Whoa. He must be a total badass!"

"Yeah, my big brother's the best!" Goten said, eyes lulling over with a fondness for his elder brother as he threw his arms out wide as if to accentuate Gohan's badassery, drawing a good-natured snicker from his roommate.

"I bet."

Sasuke and Sakura both stared, expressions an unholy combination of flatlined and bug-eyed as awkward droplets of sweat ran down their outlandish deadpanned faces. They knew by now that both airheads were incapable of normal thought processes, but this deviation from their original topic was kind of ridiculous. It hadn't even been five minutes yet before they randomly started gushing over Goten's, apparently, amazing older brother.

"You're missing the point," Sasuke stated, voice raising a subtle yet noticeable notch in irritation.

Naruto looked at him blankly, "The point?"

Sasuke palmed his face, hard enough to produce the sound of an audible slap, though honestly, he was berating himself more than he was berating Naruto, "Humans _can't_ be that strong, Naruto," He emphasized, tone calming with the utterance of Naruto's name; hands sliding in his pockets.

The widening of Naruto's cerulean eyes in recognition only had Sasuke kicking himself once more. Let it be known subtlety was not Naruto's strong point. If you weren't direct with your point then Naruto wouldn't get where you were coming from. This was why his only admirer, the Hyuuga princess, had failed to garner his attention. She just wasn't direct enough.

"What?" Naruto asked, visibly stunned, staggering back a step which drew a roll of the eyes from Sasuke, "I can't be as strong as Goten?"

"Doubt it." Sasuke said bluntly, "That power he used, in his… Kamehameha," He choked, still spooked, "Wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. How can humans ever hope to replicate that?"

Naruto dropped his head like an anchor plummeting into the great abyss of the sea of despair, curling his hands into fists with his entire body shuddering in a constant war of his acknowledged disbelief and stubborn refusal to believe his roommate's power was absolutely unreachable. He drew in an intake of air, exhaling in a shaky breath that garnered a look of worry from his crush.

Goten hesitated toward him, "Um, are you okay, Naru-."

"You're wrong," Naruto interjected suddenly, unintentionally cutting off his only friend. They blinked at him, confusion clouding their eyes until Naruto rose his head and flashed Sasuke the most biting glare of tenacity that he could muster, teeth a grit like an injured tiger told he couldn't go on but it soldiered on regardless, "I can get as strong as Goten, you'll see!"

"Yeah, right," Sasuke sighed in a deflated fashion in his sarcasm, feeling like an old grandpa who just couldn't get through to his rowdy, stubborn grandson, "Humans can't get that strong, Naruto. That would make you a go-."

"Shut up!" Naruto roared, startling Sakura, "I will, I will catch up to Goten, bastard!" He bridged the gap between them in one purposeful step, yanking the Uchiha to his tiptoes by his collar, "And you're not gonna stop me or put me down, believe it!"

"What are you doing!?" Sasuke demanded gruffly, roughly grabbing onto Naruto's collar with his own hands which only led to a mock-grappling match between the two long-time academy-bled rivals for superiority, "Let go of me, idiot!"

"Never! Not until you acknowledge anyone can be as strong as Goten with a little hard work!"

"Don't be delusional! Training alone isn't going to get just anyone to that level!"

"It will!"

"It won't!"

"It will!"

"It won't!"

"Sasuke, Naruto, quit it!" Sakura commanded, but all in vain, the two obstinate boys continuing their back-and-forth push-of-war with each negative and positive statement they shouted at each other. Left with no other option, she turned to Goten who was watching their bickering teammates in concern, "Goten, do something!"

Seemingly coming to his senses, Goten looked over to her as if to ask "Me?", but easily relented at Sakura's pleading look. He shrugged, instantaneously dematerializing before Sakura's eyes and reappearing behind Naruto, arms tucked up and over his in a full nelson. With such an ease of picking a bug off the ground, he gently pulled his roommate away from their teammate.

"H-Hey, what the-?" Naruto sputtered, struggling in vain to break free of the mighty hold before it occurred to him to look over his shoulder to see Goten's sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Naruto. Sakura told me to," Goten explained.

Naruto pouted miserably at her, wincing her name as though he honestly expected her to take his side, "Sakura..."

Sakura vacuumed in a large intake of preparative air, her breath practically spiraling into her puckered lips like a mini tornado, "Drop it, knucklehead!" She raged, threateningly waving a fist of righteous feminine fury at Naruto, effectively capping a lid on his shallow complaints. The blond winced sharply, leaning back against his friend and even squirming as if he was trying to get behind him to use him as a shield from Sakura's wrath.

The lone kunoichi sighed with a calming breath, shaking her head at Naruto's strong stance effortlessly collapsing under the intensity of her feminine anger, "Goten and I can't afford you two killing each other!" She levelled him with a stern glare, getting him to lower his eyes whilst Sasuke discreetly rolled his eyes, "Or did you forget the rule of the mission objective, idiot? All four of us have to make it to the tower together otherwise we fail, so just agree to disagree and drop it!"

Sasuke wanted to say the chances of Naruto forcing him to a death draw were slim to none but knew it would've been counter-intuitive with what Sakura was going for, so held his tongue. She was trying to be the voice of reason by putting a halting stop to their annoying squabble, which was what Sasuke ultimately wanted since he and Naruto started. Ironically, for as much as he argued with Naruto, he found no enjoyment in their vocal battles and clash of ideals, but at the same time, it also didn't sit right with him just letting Naruto have his way, like he was surrendering superiority to the blond in doing so.

And that was Sasuke's paradox.

He hated bickering but was too prideful to admit defeat. Just like Naruto.

The raven-haired Uchiha could see his blond nemesis glaring heatedly at him, which he returned, clearly in an inner war within himself weighing the pros and cons of just calling an unspoken truce to their war of ideals. A quick stern cough from the kunoichi had Naruto breaking the stare off.

"Oh, fine!" Naruto grumped, wasting no time crossing his arms once Goten slowly released him from his hold.

Sakura heaved an enormous sigh, the tension in her stiff posture of a strict elder sister abating leisurely, "There! Now, was that really so hard?" She teased, condescendingly, drawing a huff from Naruto before he looked away from her. Sakura sweetened her expression, patting her cheeks before glancing over at Sasuke, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke ignored her affection, stuffing his hands into his pockets and pivoting on a heel, "Let's go."

Naruto was going to glare at the last solidary Uchiha in Konoha's rankings for acting like the leader of them, but thought better of it; Sakura's own glare ensuring he did so. Instead, he bounded to his roommate's side, who was still smiling sheepishly from the whole affair, intent to strike up a conversation regarding his alien race while they followed after their teammates.

"So, Goten. Does your race have a name? Wait. Are there other alien races beside yours? How would you tell each other apart?"

"I don't know! Trunks and I just live on earth with everyone else. My big brother said we're Saiyans."

"Oh, so THAT's why it's called Super Saiyan. Alright. I figured it was just a really weird name."

Goten chuckled lightly before a seemingly random thought occurred to him. He lifted his head, gazing up at the sky as if expecting to find something worthy of interest.

"Um, will the moon be up tonight?"

"Don't ask me about that scientific-stuff, cause I don't know. Why?"

"Because I'll turn into a big monkey if I look at the moon."

And, that just about set them back to square one; right when they weirdly assumed they were numbed to the idea that teammate was basically an alien lifeform whose race wasn't originally born on earth, he dropped that bombshell on them.

Goten may have been simple in nature, but let the irony be known that anything pertaining to him was anything but.

New Kids on the Block

 **C**

 **H**

 **A**

 **P**

 **T**

 **E**

 **R**

 **ELEVEN**

The Walking **Tailed** Beasts

(Hokage's tower)

Hiruzen stared, and gawked, wizened hands practically frozen stiff around the outer circular edges of his crystal orb, mouth agape, jaw slacked, and weathered countenance paled like his remaining lifeforce was zapped out of him right there and then. A mixture of emotions ferociously swirled inside of him like the world's deadliest torrent.

Disbelief.

Shock.

Hope.

Fear.

Self-doubt.

Intrigue

And finally, sadness.

The seasoned veteran experienced something akin to a seizure-induced assault of bright colourful flashes so rapidly he was certain had he not been as experienced as he was, he would've lost his mind going through the plethora of emotions that he did.

Disbelief founded by the traumatic unbelieving shock that any human, much less a child, could have destructive power _literally_ comparable to the Kyuubi's trademark tailed beast bomb he hoped to never see again since Minato deflected it away from Konoha all those years ago on the day of Naruto's birth, undoubtedly saving Konoha from its toasty demise.

Shock followed immediately after disbelief in the realization he wasn't just dreaming or at worst, hallucinating. That boy previously assumed to be merely Kage-level stood on the same immeasurable grounds of the fearsome Kyuubi no Yoko itself in terms of raw power output.

A seed of hope quickly sprouted in his heart, nurtured by his innate love for the twisted Snake Sannin on the end of Son Goten's tailed beast bomb-level blast. If all his people and soldiers under his protection and employment were his grandchildren, then his former students were his children, and as any loving father would, he would hold each member of the famous Legendary Sannin dearly, despite how far one had fallen.

Fear ensnarled his heart in a wave of death chains readying to shatter it at any given moment with the knowledge that no one man, even one acknowledged by the highly revered Hanzo of the Salamander, could ever survive a blast rivalling the nation-destroying power of the Kyuubi that'd already _ripped_ through the formidable defensive walls Hiruzen's own master created.

Self-doubt hit him like a freight train. How could any respectable leader half worth his salt feel for a criminal, a bonafide megalomaniacal villain and even a traitor to his own village? He _shouldn't_ want him to live. He should, by all rights, be relieved the Leaf's greatest enemy had been effectively dealt with. Ultimately, it was Hiruzen himself, at the behest of his old teammates, who sent out the execution order on Orochimaru; the very order that marked him as a rogue ninja. Despite all that, despite knowing deep down just how morally wrong it was to feel distressed at the death of a corrupt man, Hiruzen just couldn't bring himself to disregard Orochimaru. He could only regard him as his beloved son.

Intrigue provided him a much-needed distraction from his anguished thoughts of insecurity, taking him back to the story as told by his master and first discovered by the second of the two greatest clansmen to ever flourish from their respective tribes, Senju and Uchiha. Perhaps, with Goten's plain-spoken reveal of his alien heritage, that there was indeed some merit to the ancient myth of the rabbit goddess? If his Saiyan heritage was really an alien species not originally from Earth, then there was always the possibility of there existing other lifeforms out there in the vast galaxy, even the one belonging to the Rabbit Goddess herself.

He would need to specify the truths to Goten's claim even if he felt the boy was incapable of lying from the light surveillance he kept on him and Trunks throughout the week. Claiming to be from an alien species just wasn't something to accept without it being attested for. The idea of aliens even existing outside of earth was a concept straight out of a fairy tale, which was why for many years, Hiruzen always dismissed the myth of the Rabbit Goddess as just that; a myth.

A rhythm of beats thudding off of his door like a musical instrument pulled him from his thoughts like a hook stick yanking a poorly received comedian off stage.

Hiruzen's head snapped up to his door, features simultaneously smoothing out into a stoic look, "Proceed," He allowed, situating his elbows upon his desk, fingers entwining into a makeshift bridge that covered his nose.

The doorknob twisted, clicked, and the doorway cleared with a polite push, creating entrance for a much taller, male version of the blond Yamanaka of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, leaf headband wrapped around his forehead keeping the bangs out of his eyes and standard Chunin/Jounin attire on his person, "You wished to see me, Lord Hokage?"

"Ah, Inoichi," Hiruzen greeted, allowing a small smile to crack through his bland exterior, "Thank you for showing on such notice. I am certain you can correctly deduce which sudden veritable opted me to summon you without notice."

He could see the Yamanaka head clan leader shuddering, "Yeah," He confirmed, breath almost visible, "It's about that tailed beast-level explosion that eclipsed the entirety of the village, is it not?"

"It is indeed," Hiruzen clarified, nodding down by way of approval and to gesture to his crystal ball, "I have borne witness to the one responsible for such an insurmountably powerful explosion generated to vanquish our old comrade, Orochimaru, off the face of the Earth."

Astonishment staggered him back like he had a blow delivered to his face by the world's finest Taijutsu master, "Incredible." He breathed, eyes shaking, "How can anyone have that kind of power? It's unheard of," His eyes drifted back to his leader with solemn curiosity, "You said 'one'? Does that mean the one who made _that_ isn't…?"

"I can assure you, he is very much a _person_ ," Hiruzen said, prompting Inoichi's eyes to shoot up in disbelieving shock, "Though, whether he is human remains to be ascertained," He continued, "It seems, amid his absolute eradication of Orochimaru, he has, by his own admission, regrown his tail."

One of the esteemed three of the highly renowned Ino-Shika-Cho trio flinched, eyes dilating again. 'A tail?' Regardless of learning of the utter absurdity of a proclaimed entity growing a tail, things were starting to fall into place, "I see. You wish for me to read his mind to learn of his origins?"

"Indeed," Hiruzen nodded, "He is participating in the Chunin exams as we speak, though I am certain it shalt not be long until he completes it."

"The Chunin exams!" Inoichi cringed in horror, entire face slowly turning pale, "You mean that dastardly Orochimaru infiltered the village just to participant in the Chunin exams my baby girl's in right now!?"

Hiruzen's face remained impassive; an unmovable ocean of stoicism despite the whirlwind of emotions threatening to contort it, "Afraid so."

Inoichi took another involuntary step back; the grim fate of his precious daughter sinking in with aplomb, "No," He murmured, dread quivering his eyes, before he lifted his thumb to bite down on the tip of it, 'Ino.' He glanced back up to his leader with renewed confident hope, "If I may ask Lord Hokage," He waited until he received a nod of approval before proceeding, "Did the… unnaturally strong entity discover the reason behind Orochimaru's decision to guise himself as a Chunin applicant?"

"To my knowledge, he did not." Hiruzen explained plainly, "I only caught the tail end of the 'fight' once Orochimaru activated Lord First's Triple Rashomon, which was still overpowered by young Goten's Kamehameha beam, or that tailed beast-level blast if you are more familiar with its explosive radius."

Not for the first time, Inoichi involuntarily soared his eyes to new heights, giving the impression his eyes were beady and enormous like a baby's, "Incredible." He didn't know anything of the demon-faced gates of hell personally, just that they were once called forth by the strongest shinobi to ever walk the war-torn grounds of the Elemental Nations. It was well known by all veteran shinobi of the Leaf that most, if not all, ninjutsu belonging to the lionized Senju brothers of legend were considered so powerful they were classified as forbidden techniques and listed on a scroll named as such.

For good reason to. Even Lord Second's famed Shadow Clone Jutsu, probably the least powerful of the slew of divine techniques, divided the user's Chakra cleanly in half. Given that the average shinobi didn't possess oceanic reserves of Chakra, a large majority could only conjure up two clones before running the risk of Chakra-depletion and death shortly after. Any technique potent to the degree that it could steamroll through a forbidden jutsu so powerful it came with costly side effects had to have been detrimental to the user if he wasn't a bonafide god already.

'I hope Ino didn't get caught in the crossfire.'

Hiruzen seemed to read his mind, "If you are concerned about your daughter's wellbeing," He started, a grizzled smirk tugging at his lips when Inoichi gawked at him, "I can assure you, it is misplaced. It seems, before the fight took place, dearest Ino was able to find her way to young Trunks. She and her team have been escorted safely to the central tower by Trunks and his team."

"Trunks." The implications were explicit to read, but despite all that Inoichi couldn't stop his eyes from darkening. What was his baby girl doing with some boy not even on her team? Rationality was chucked out of the window, replaced by headstrong resolve. He was giving that boy "the talk" because there was no way in hell was Inoichi Yamanaka ever letting some snot-nosed brat date his precious daughter.

If Hiruzen sensed the dark nature fostering within the Yamanaka clan head, he didn't show it. Instead, he twirled in his chair, sitting back leisurely, "Yes, he is the companion of young Goten, and, if the implications are to believed, of the same alien heritage as the boy," He chuckled, "Imagine this, we would have two walking tailed beasts in human skin as well as our own under our care. Perhaps, we have more of a right to boast being the strongest village in the notion."

"Yeah." It was the only thing he could do.

Roaming weaponized tailed beasts taken human forms or not, he was not letting that punk have his Ino.

xXx

"Woohooooooo!" The exuberant shout of pure bliss echoed in the winds of team seven's high altitude; the blond tenaciously keeping a firm hold on the left foot of the accelerating Goten with his rival clinging to his other foot with one hand; the other held in front of his face shielding his eyes from the fierce winds picked up from his teammate's sheer flight speed. The lone female of the team of fresh-minted Genin was a bundle of pink and red in Goten's arms, reminiscent of a husband carrying his newlywed.

 _This_. This sensation of pure euphoria in his heart was _exactly_ what he wanted to experience the instance he learned Goten had flight manipulation. Amazing didn't describe his overzealous excitement; in fact, it severely understated it.

The strong breeze colliding against his face, whipping the spiky locks of hair back like he was standing in a tornado, rustling his clothes to resemble loose bags of air, allowing the breeze to hurtle over his skin, the feeling of supreme satisfaction of finally sticking it to those stuck-up birds; there was nothing quite like it.

Soaring through the clouds bathed in the transparent aura of his roommate brought out his innate childlike jubilation.

"This is sooo~ cool!" Naruto crowed loudly, tasting a mouthful of milky-white transparent clouds as Goten raced through the sky's curtains. He could _actually_ feel the softness of the clouds up close and personal much less taste them. He didn't even mind having to spit them back up, "P! Ack! It's so bland!" He laughed.

"Well, what did you expect them to taste like; ramen!?" Sasuke snapped, having to resort to Naruto's levels of loud just to be heard over the ferocity of their flight. This was the loudest Sasuke had ever talked, arguments with the blond notwithstanding.

"I don't know, maybe!" Naruto chortled back, far too _high_ in spirits as well as heights to even contemplate arguing with his rival, "Wouldn't that be awesome, though!? Ramen-tasting-clouds!? Heck yeah! Sign me up!"

A rare pout of childish annoyance developed on the Uchiha's face, "You know, it wouldn't taste that great." He grumbled, sounding like he was looking for excuses to avoid acknowledging the inevitable; that he – Mr doom and gloom – was having fun being one of Goten's flight passengers.

"What!?" Naruto yelled, "Can't hear ya! Speak up, pal!"

"Tch. Little idiot."

"Hahahaha!"

Sakura sighed from her place cuddled in Goten's arms, feeling like an embarrassed mother needing to be carried to the infirmary by her son, 'There they go, at it as usual,' A dry smile spread across her lips, 'Even flying doesn't change that.' She mused, 'Still, I can see Naruto's point,' She risked a glimpse under Goten's arms, instantly wishing she hadn't as anxiety swallowed her eyes whole. 'W-Wow. From this distance, the trees almost look like broccoli.' A bead of sweat raced over her forehead, 'How does Goten do this?' And with such an ease that he could sustain enough concentration to endure a prolonged air battle too.

When they were going over the quickest routes to the tower after quite literally finding a random heaven scroll tossed without a second thought on the ground not long after they left the site of slaughter, she assumed he was just joking about his expert flight manipulation. Being carried by the boy himself as he maintained a steady pace piloting through the air, she now realized he was doing anything but joking.

Realization engulfed her like a void of endless nothingness. If Goten could easily sustain flight as he was portraying now as well as shoot destructive beams of pure energy from his hands, who could stop him? Flight wasn't exactly a common technique. If there were others who could utilize such a versatile ability, they had to be in the minority like Goten and Trunks.

In theory, all Goten would ever have to do against pretty much anyone not including Trunks was ascend to the sky and start peppering them with energy blasts, or even charge up his family's signature Kamehameha wave. In the air, no one would be able to stop him. Ninjutsu only had a certain range to them after all.

Sakura peered up at Goten's peaceful visage, expression a mix of apprehensive and curious. He very likely may have been too humble in nature to consider himself as such, but that didn't mean others wouldn't conclude he was, though. That was the case for Sakura who could only see Goten as invincible. With his abilities and divine power, who could take him down?

"Goten."

Goten glanced down at the bundle in his arms, breaking his peaceful contemplative expression of their surroundings to search the girl's troubled gaze with concerned eyes, "Um. Are you okay, Sakura?"

Sakura flinched. She hadn't meant to say that out loud, "Oh!" She laughed, uneasy, "I'm fine Goten!" She waved, banishing the notion like a bad idea brought to the table, "I was, uh, just thinking it shouldn't take us long at all to reach the tower at this pace."

As expected, her babied companion nodded in easy acceptance despite the obvious holes in her excuse.

Suffice to her excuse, though, the duration of their trip to their destination expired _much_ shorter than if they had been tree-hopping, much to Naruto's disappointment.

"Aw, we're here already?" He whined, feeling his legs dangling like a pair of strings instead of flapping in the intense winds Goten's flight speed picked up. It said a great something if Naruto Uzumaki had lost track of their travel time.

With his short attention span, he could barely go five seconds without shamelessly repeating the phrase, 'Are we there yet?' over and over again. The journey had been too fun to complain about and he was noticeably sad to see it end as he felt Goten descend; his cerulean eyes scaling down the floors of the towering triangular building they had arrived at.

Once Sasuke and Naruto could come to grips with (the) solid earth beneath their feet once again, they released their holds on Goten's ankles; Sasuke nonchalantly and Naruto reluctantly.

"Man…" Naruto grouched, crossing his arms. He watched his ride nimbly drop to his feet as graceful as a figure skater, never once disturbing the pink-haired maiden still in his arms, "Couldn't you have circled the block or something? That was too awesome!"

"Maybe," Goten grinned, sliding his tongue through his teeth. He kneeled, letting Sakura elegantly slip from his arms, "But I think Sakura was feeling a little airsick."

Sakura looked comically startled by Goten's innocent accusation as a reasoning he may have subconsciously quickened their pace with her wide bug-eyed stare as if to ask "Me?"

"Sakura." Naruto's pitiful puppy-dog whine only fuelled her temper.

Thankfully, Sasuke's admirable indifference of infinite composure as though he were some highly trained secret agent to the girl's wild imagination easily cooled her infuriation at the blond's annoying tendencies, leaving her wet in more places than one.

"Let's just go inside."

"Oh, Sasuke! You're so smart!"

She faithfully trailed the Uchiha inside like a lovestruck puppy, not a care in the world to the stares of either blank confusion or envious resentment to her fanatic-like devotion to Sasuke evoked from her other teammates, Goten and Naruto respectively.

"Drats! Darn that Sasuke! Thinks he's so cool 'cause he has Sakura! One day, she'll love me like that when I steal her from him, believe it!"

"He is pretty cool, though."

"Aw, c'mon Goten! Not you too!"

"What'd I do?"

XxX

(Later)

XxX

"Damn it!"

"Would you give it a rest?" Sasuke demanded, Naruto's griping having grated on his last nerve.

The team of four were now sauntering – or marching grouchily in Naruto's case – through a neatly cleaned hallway, Naruto and Sasuke on the outside of Goten and Sakura respectively so they couldn't bite each other's heads off without wiggling past the muscles of the team, and, they were honest with themselves, knew was never going to happen.

"I can't believe we weren't the first team to get here!" Naruto complained.

Naturally they were stricken with surprise by the entry of their former academy teacher that the unfolding of both scrolls had birthed, but none more so than Iruka's admittance that they were the third team in a single day of remarkable events to progress through the next round of the Chunin exam; in less than an hour to boot.

This one was clearly for the history books: the first time three Genin teams had _blitzed_ through the second phase of the Chunin Exam without an hour even being on the clock.

That was a millstone if there ever was one.

"I mean, who the heck could've beaten us here?!" Naruto continued to whine, "We were flying for crying out loud! C'mon! How's that fair?! We should've won this thing, yessiree! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!" He argued, earning very reluctant nods of agreement from Sasuke and Sakura. He did have a point they couldn't help but concede to.

Even if another exceptionally talented team of obvious sensory-types was able to locate one of the other candidates with their scroll counterpart they wouldn't have had the time to cover a significant distance before team seven overtook them by fast travel of flight. They weren't even held up for any long stretch of time during their run-in with the now deceased snake humanoid.

Goten made decidedly short work of him. Even counting the initial time it took the villainous man to initiate the confrontation with the team of newbies, it couldn't have been any more than twenty minutes at most before they stumbled upon a random heaven scroll out of nowhere and were on their way to the tower. The trip itself didn't last long at all if Naruto's bellyaching was any indication. Five minutes, if that, at most and they were there.

Who could've beaten them in under thirty minutes?

"I'm more curious to know what Lord Hokage wants with ape-boy here," Sasuke gestured to the other side where the tailed muscles of the team was blinking blankly, pointing to himself.

"Me?" He asked.

"Duh! Isn't it obvious?" Naruto shot back in teenager bluster, "The old man wants to know about his tail and his monkey transformation!" He crossed his arms, nodding to himself in content, "Totally obvious!"

"Idiot! Don't you think I know that!?" Sasuke snapped.

Naruto's face fell, "Huh? Then why'd you ask?" He screwed up his face, jutting his bottom lip out; eyes narrowing askance, "Seems pretty dumb."

Sasuke palmed his face, forcibly cooling his red-hot irritation of his blond rival's lack of foresight to heated annoyance, "No, you idiot. I was thinking it may also have something to do with the freaky snake-guy."

Naruto blinked, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh, yeah," Sakura realized, accompanying her burst of recognition with a snap of her fingers, "Of course! That creep was way too strong to be a normal Genin."

Naruto's arms went over his chest again in a clear lack of understanding, "Goten is too strong to be a regular Genin-joe, though, so?"

"Here's the thing about that," Sasuke coolly offered, tucking a hand into a pocket, "We already knew Goten wasn't a shinobi prior to being integrated into the Leaf's ranks, and now we know he's an alien on top of that." He could see Naruto getting heated by the reminder of Goten's unnatural strength, though he was on hand to pacify his fury, "Even if you believe anyone can reach Goten's level, you have to acknowledge normal shinobi aren't that strong."

Naruto scowled bitterly. Even if he accepted Sasuke's compromise that didn't mean he liked it. Anything other than an outright victory in his favour to hold over Sasuke's head would leave a sour taste in his mouth, "Fine." He grumbled, "But what about Snake-face? He clearly wasn't normal or anything! Heck, he had you and Sakura peeing your pants!"

"What was that knucklehead?"

"Wah! Sorry!"

"Only to _us,_ " The Uchiha pointedly emphasized. Naruto blinked, gaze misted by confusion, "He was only strong in comparison to us," He clarified, "We're only rookies who haven't had the time to reach our full potential. I have no doubt had that freak been facing Kakashi the gap in power wouldn't have been that vast like it was between us and him."

He had his whiskered teammate folding his arms again, his eyes squinted in reluctance, "Hm, I see your point."

As the original trio of team seven drifted off to their own thoughts like a trio of boats floating uneasily away from each other, an uncomfortable silence descended upon the group like snowfall; Sasuke left pondering the vile necromancer's motives, Naruto wondering how in the ever-loving heavens was he going to catch up to Goten (Taijutsu training could only get him so far after all) and Sakura on her fluttering heart.

He may have been meticulous in his phrasing of their unfulfilled potential to avoid arguments, but just the fact that her crush had acknowledged her existence could potentially have some value set her on her way. Face pinkened like the colour of her hair, Sakura was handed a first-class ticket on cloud nine.

"Ah, Sasuke," She moaned lightly, cupping her cheeks and slightly swaying her body.

Goten blinked at her, 'Girls are weird.'

It wasn't long after that they reached a door on the end of the long corridor they were strolling through. Naruto, desperate to swoon Sakura with his supreme gentlemanly skills, bounded ahead of the group to grasp the doorknob. With all the cool suave he could muster, he stepped to one side, pulling the door open.

"After you, Sakura," He gestured to the open room with a sweeping arm, tipping her a flirty wink.

She ignored his attempts at game, making a show of turning her nose up before sweetening her smile to offer Sasuke the first invite through the open door. He in return barely acknowledged her revenge of Naruto's unwanted courtesy, giving as little as a grunt before sauntering through.

"Aw." Naruto moaned. Sakura didn't even grace him with a look; only stopping once she was past him to smile sweetly at Goten.

"C'mon, Goten."

Goten nodded, offering his roommate a comforting pat on the shoulder, "Thank you, Naruto."

"Yeah… don't mention it."

xXx

The dead leaves of the lifeless trees of the imaginary night swayed in a chilling breeze, producing eerie sounds that reflected the devastated moods of palpable depression of the recently eradicated snake sannin's henchmen.

Together they stood, in a triangle formation, feelings of intense yearning desire for the life of the only man to bizarrely give them a purpose in life, even if it was only as pawns to his endgames. No words were to be exchanged; they couldn't be exchanged even if they wanted to. Gazes despairingly locked to the extinguished soil that marked the death of Orochimaru.

"I," One of the twins choked, fist tightening at his side.

"I know," His brother acknowledged, masked visage contorting tearfully.

"How could this happen?"

"I don't know."

"We do know!" He retorted, a vengeful rage blazing within his lenses, "It was _them_ , those freaks of nature!" He anguished, buckling his knees and letting loose a strangled cry, "I'll kill them, I swear it! I won't let them get away with what they've done to Lord Orochimaru!"

"Wait, Yoroi!" Kabuto implored, hastily rounding on the emotional shinobi.

"Don't try to stop me!" He raged, "How could you even try?! You of all people should be the most intent to avenge our lord!" His voice dropped, an admittance rambling from his throat like acid he was forced to swallow, "You were always his favourite."

Kabuto's features softened, "I do understand how you feel," The lenses of his glasses gleamed, "But I'm also rational. Make no mistake, I intend to make those kids pay dearly for the death of Lord Orochimaru. That said," He pushed up his glasses, "We need to strike a plan if we are to accomplish that because charging at them with an emotional onslaught so soon after they… killed Lord Orochimaru won't end well for us."

They flinched, eyeing their comrade in infiltration darkly; their voices measured with a precise amount of foreboding, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, for as brilliant as Lord Orochimaru was, he was still Ill-prepared," Kabuto answered, meticulously, "We _won't_ be, because we know what they're capable of."

"You have a plan." It wasn't a question.

A diabolic smirk swept over his lips, "Of course," He assured, "It's really quite simple yet ingenious if I do say myself. First of all, we will acquire a sample of their DNA."

"I think I see where you're going with this."

"I'm thrilled," He said, half-sarcastically. Naturally, resuming their lord's work of integrating the intricate and powerful cells from other shinobi clans in his stride was the logical course of action, especially considering the insurmountable mountain of a challenge tasked before them, "Those kids aren't normal. They're special." He frowned, because that went without saying. Shinobi did not possess power all but clarifying them as tailless tailed beasts period, let alone in their adolescence.

Procuring their DNA was the only route Kabuto had access to, to even consider bridging the lofty gap separating their power.

The brothers knew this themselves, even if they had their own doubts pertaining to the hows of acquiring the DNA of one of the walking tailed beasts in human skin. They just wanted to avenge Orochimaru; hearts burning with that desire.

Resolve sharpening their gazes behind their respective lenses, they said, "We're in."

Veils of sinister shadows shrouded Kabuto's smirk.

Yes, he would inherit his beloved lord's will, acquire his murderer's DNA and ascend past the limitations of humanity.

Then the world and everything in it would be ripe for the taking.

* * *

xXx

(Omake – The Adventures of Trunks - Part one)

xXx

"Alright, we can do this."

"Yeah, so long as we avoid that kid with the freaky transformation I think we're good."

"Ugh! Don't remind me."

"Yeah dude. I almost shit myself when that guy turned on the light show!"

"Idiots! That's why I'm reminding us, so we can avoid the fuck out of him."

"Hey, that's a good point!" That was _not_ hollered by anyone of the nondescript team hailing from the Village Hidden Among the Rocks, containing all the teenage bluster and mockery of a supremely confident individual. Speak of the devil was all too frighteningly appropriate in this scenario. The avoided nightmare of the team of fodders materialized on a tree branch, arms folded over his chest with all the cocky assertion of an older kid looking down at the younger kids.

"It's him!"

"Shit…"

The warrior's smirk naturally laced over his lips inherited from his father solidified to their fear of him, "Pooped yourself yet?"

The one who mentioned soiling his pants in exaggeration of his shock of the boy's power paled in realization, "Nuh-uh." He denied. It was all he could do after all. He didn't even have it in him to clarify he was only exaggerating about soiling himself.

"Right, right," Trunks nodded with an unconvincing tone. Suddenly, he sharpened his gaze with a predatory edge; eyes resembling that of a hawk's eyeing its preys. His victims were paralyzed, instantly breaking out into a cold sweat all over, "Listen, pal. If you don't actually want to crap yourself, you should cooperate. If you don't, well," He chuckled darkly, "You'll have to burn those pants once I'm through with you."

He didn't hesitate. He just turned to his teammate, "Give him the scroll dude!"

Trunks smirked in approval, "Smart choice."

"We're not scared of you."

The show of flimsy defiance of the threatened fodder's teammate didn't annoy Trunks as much as they thought it would. If anything, he looked even more dangerously amused, "Stupid choice."

"We're not scared of you!"

"I am!"

"Ryo!"

"Dude! You saw his golden form as well as I did! Do you really think we can take him on!?"

"T-That doesn't automatically mean he has a load of super powerful ninjutsu!"

"Yeah, well! I don't wanna find out!"

They stiffened at the object of their fear snickering mockingly, "Smart guy," He said, and then, he was gone; vanished throughout a trace. They didn't even get the chance to blink, or at least they assumed they didn't blink. How could they? They were so intently focused on keeping their frightened sights on him they forgot to even breath.

"W-Wha-?"

"Now if only your pals had even half that same mental capacity this might not be so hard on you." They jumped out of their skins, yelping in fright to the close proximity of their tormentor's voice. Nervously, and with loud audible gulps, the nondescript team hailing from the rock village half turned, finding the ability to wince even easier than an annoying D-rank "mission." Lo and behold, he stood right in the centre of their blind-spots, smirking coolly to the startling realization forming over their faces.

"H-How did you-!?" The audacious one of the trio tried, bravado crumpling like so many weathered pieces of stone; recognition ripping him from his comfort zone. Whether it was just pure speed or a burst of the tried-and-true Body Flicker Jutsu honed to the highest degree that didn't even leave a hint of its utilization, this guy could easily penetrate their defences, and for a ninja, getting in your opponent's blind spot would effectively ensure your victory, "…Fuck."

Trunks flashed his acceptance of the lose-lose situation his team was in a smirk, unfolding one arm and extending it toward the trio open at the palm expectantly, "You know what I want."

The two members of the trio didn't even attempt to debate it. They just hastily rounded to the middle guy and seemingly de-facto leader of their team with urgency written all over their faces, "Give him the scroll, dude!"

The leader grimaced in desperation, pride struggling to plummet down his throat as he placed a hand on the back of his pouch, trembling in helpless frustration, "Alright, alright!" He swallowed, shredding his skin of the last remnants of bravado he had. He slipped his hand into his pouch, pulling out a scroll he politely yet hesitantly placed on Trunks' palm, "Here."

"Pleasure doing business with ya," Trunks mocked, though a mere glimpse was all it took to wipe the smirk straight off his face. Cold water was poured all over his parade, 'Darn, just my luck.' He frowned.

"Uh, is something wrong?" They hesitated.

Their breaths hitched in their throats when he looked at them with a renewed look. Gone was that twinkle of manipulative smug satisfaction, hardened into a dimmed glow of annoyed indifference. They panicked, hoping they hadn't subconsciously given the mean-faced youth a fake scroll out of an innate sense of stubborn pride to never give up theirs.

That stare had fangs.

"Looks like it's your lucky day," He said, drawing blinks from his victims, several more soon following with the toss of their retrieved scroll landing by their feet. He then dryly quipped, "Lucky you."

"Wait!" One said, "You're just giving it back to us?"

"Duh."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"I already have that scroll," He shoveled out his ear with an index finger, zoning out the audible thuds of the group's dramatic face-faults, "Well, scare ya later."

And then he was gone; reminiscent of the wind, not even a hint of a sign left to point out to his sudden initiation of super speed. They didn't even see his feet move an inch. Just as soon as his smallest finger had cleaned the wax out of his ear, he just… disappeared, blinked out of sight as though he were never there to begin with. The team of nondescript rock ninja did the only thing they could do; they _stared_ , not sure whether it was out of relief of being spared or fear of that occurrence just being a hallucination conjured from their own minds.

Minds adrift, mouths agape, they fumbled to their feet lifelessly, lowering their collected gazes to their heaven scroll.

It didn't even take them more than five seconds to reach a unanimous decision.

"So, where's the entrance again?"

"I think it's over there, dude."

"Let's just get the fuck out of here!"

Their story was officially over.

xXx

" **Grr.** " A deep, thunderous growl threatened, casting an enormous shadow over a petite redhead.

'I'm so screwed,' Tears filled the crimson eyes behind the glasses of the small kunoichi. Already down and out for the count decisively, she lifted her leggings-clad legs up to her chest and pushed back on her rear, petrified desperation on her face evoked solely from the mighty creature of overgrown proportions stalking her down, saliva dripping hungrily from its mouth.

She knew she was in over her head the moment she sensed _them; the_ two freakishly powerful chakra-powerhouses that literally made the five Kage feel like Genin noobs by comparison. She told her team that it would be in their best interest if they just dropped out considering they weren't outstanding even by their own standards by a considerable margin, but they were stubborn, insisting if they just avoided the walking manifestations of power itself they could make it through this.

In short -

They were wrong.

The irony of their deaths was that it wasn't even caused by the Titans the bespectacled girl had warned them about.

" **Grr.** " The mammoth bear advanced on her, determined to send her to her teammates in the great beyond.

'NO!' She screamed internally, pressing her head down, clamping her arms over her head, and clenching her eyes shut as if the pleading act for mercy would somehow diminish the agony of her death. She waited, and waited, for death's frosty embrace to claim her, breathing quickening and heart thudding off of her chest.

The ground rattled beneath her like a stampede had passed through, followed by the sickening squelch of thick liquid spattering nastily all over her porcelain skin. She wondered, distantly, if the reaper had granted her wish of a painless death when she touched her face to feel blood on her person with a distinct lack of agony, until she realized had she died she probably wouldn't have been so aware of her surroundings.

That realization gave her whiplash.

'I'm… alive.' She pried open her eyes, gaze trembling at her blood-soaked hand, 'Then…' She balked, head snapping up to find what her senses were screaming at her to avoid like the plague had rescued her from death's clutches, 'No way.'

It was him - one of the insurmountably powerful forces she had been feeling since stepping into the first phase of the Chunin Exam – stood atop the headless mammoth bear who had decimated her teammates in cool indifference, 'Whoa…' She breathed lowly, cheeks lighting up and gaze fogging over.

"Alright, I was getting hungry," Trunks said, jumping off his kill and out of his skin, cringing to the redhead now clinging to his arm, "What the heck?" He yelled, "Where'd you come from?"

"So cool!~" She gushed, cradling the muscled arm in hers, much to the boy's clear discomfort. "Oh baby! You got abs! I love you! You're hot!"

"Yeah, about that," Trunks nervously said, slipping from her grasp and out of her private space. He backed up, hands held up, but the weird girl only continued to stalk him with an intense gleam of lecherous admiration shining in her eyes.

"Yes, baby."

"I'm kind of taken," His face turned as beef red as a tomato at the admittance. One girl embarrassing him was enough. He _did not_ need two. The redhead was even the infinite greater of two evils. She just clung to him like a mindless fanatic. Ino at least had class with her flirting that he respected.

The hybrid's efforts to 'take himself off the shelf' of potential arm candy seemingly had the desired effect. The girl's approach halted with a screeching effect like a train making an emergency stop to avoid driving off the severed railing, allowing Trunks to cease his backpaddling from her, shrugging as the lustful look in her eyes glazed over into a blank expression of incomprehension like her emotions were shut down.

"Sorry.-"

"No!" She roared suddenly, drawing a startled flinch from her desired boyfriend, "I'm not losing my man to some hussy!" She charged him with reckless abandon, discarding the recent memory of the devilishly handsome cool boy unintentionally saving her from a foe neither she nor her team had any chance against, seemingly running through his terrified form, "Huh?" She stumbled, falling and crashing on her stomach.

"Ow," She rubbed her backside, pulling herself to her knees. Recognition kicked her brain back into gear like a rundown engine. She didn't care to spare a thought pondering the hows or even the whats of her beloved's disappearance gimmick, just that he was nowhere to be seen, "Baby, where'd you go? I'll find you eventually! I can sense you! You can't resist my sexiness!"

…

…

"Sheesh! She's nuts!" Trunks stated, soaring through the clouds with _extra_ urgency, "Better stay the heck away from her."

Like, _really_ far away; the other side of the galaxy far away.

Somehow, Trunks had the suspicion the nutty girl would still be able to hunt him down even if he was that inexplicably far away from her.

* * *

 **That's a rap, folks. Oh boy, questions galore now.**

1\. **How'd Goten regrow his tail?**

 **2\. How will the villagers react to Goten now seeing him with a tail AND being buddies with the "demon brat?"**

 **3\. How will Kabuto go about acquiring Trunks or Goten's DNA.**

 **Stick around next time for the answers and more. All will be revealed next chapter, but to give ya a little hint on Goten's tail regrowth, it pertains to GT's reintroduction of the relevance of Saiyan tails. One thing I did enjoy about GT, which was overall adequate and enjoyable to a degree, was how it made the tails relevant. They're cool after all. Take care now.**


	12. Special Chapter

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto**

 **Hey, everybody. My bad. I know I was gone a while and even now, New Kids on the Block is still on** **hold, but since I haven't updated in a while I thought** **I'll give ya a little** **something. Think of this "chapter" as the shorts of Looney Tunes, where one episode will feature multiple side stories. Yeah, that's basically this chapter a** **nutshell.**

* * *

When Trunks was absolutely, positively confident he had put significant distance between himself and the crazy red-haired kunoichi throwing herself at him he landed in the good ends of the Forest of Death yet to be torched and ravaged by him, heaving a great sigh of strangled relief.

"Alright," He straightened, rinsing the sweat from his brow with the back of his palm as he exhaled, much calmer this time around. "Think this is far enough." The obsessive girl's claims of sensory prowess playing through his mind caused him to check his blind spots just to be certain, "Don't think that crazy girl can catch up to me, least I hope not." He slumped in recognition of his own self-preservation evoked from a girl.

Running from a girl. How lame.

"Man, she was nuts," He murmured, arching his head back before reaching up to massage the kinks out of his neck with his hand, "Didn't even introduce myself and she was all over me!" Exactly like one of his unwanted groupies in his own world, Trunks realized, mentally comparing the slew of obsessive girls after his looks and money with the one just after his… power?

That raised an interesting topic. Why was the girl suddenly obsessed with him – You know, beside from just being absolutely insane? It couldn't have been to marry into his family for the sake of being set for life because he was in an entirely different world which functioned in its own unique way. No one should know of his family here because that would mean they wasn't in another world; that they were actually in their own world all along but just in another "unknown" "unheard" of region. That was illogical for so many reasons, even with ruling out the fact he couldn't sense anyone they knew.

This world was far too different from their own for the two to ever be one and the same.

Trunks seriously doubted if there was anyone of this land who had even heard of the concepts of guns and cars much less actual humanoid animals being considered just as humans as actual humans.

"Meh. Probably just wanted a strong guy to 'protect her'," Trunks concluded, eyes souring in contempt, "She was a total lameo back there, so?" He even "saved" her by way of total accident and absolute coincidence. He was actually planning on swiping her scroll after eating his catch, but her obsessive nature terrified him so much he had to cut his losses and bail.

Now he was hungry and without a potential Earth scroll.

So lame.

"Meh, no sense crying over spilled milk," Trunks quickly brushed off his losses, tossing a shrug to no one in particular. After all, there were plenty of overgrown animals and more than enough contenders to ambush. One of those other teams had to have had an Earth scroll he could nick.

He felt like a kid in a candy store. No one except for Goten's team was off-limits. He was the most powerful being to exist in the land of ninja by a small margin. There wasn't anything any ninja could do to stop him. There were all ripe for the choosing.

It was just a matter of finding them.

Trunks smirked mischievously at the prospect of putting the squeeze on another team of pretenders. The last team he strong-armed tickled a sadistic bone in him he never even knew he had, "Heh! I'm psyched for the wimps I-." It was a smirk that just as easily vanished as it came by one word; that just happened to be his name stylized, hollered in a familiar playful tone which caused his heart to speed up several beats.

"Trunkey!"

"Ino!" He yelped, face suddenly flushed as he snapped to attention, hastily facing the platinum blond merrily skipping over to him with her long blond hair cascading freely down to her back. Trying to ignore her natural enhancing beauty of her loosened hair, Trunks whisked his view from side to side rapidly as if he was making sure no one was watching before coughing into a fist, "S'up?" He said, trying to say with all the suave of a "cool guy".

He was a gamer-boy, so he knew better than anyone he would've been labelled a "try-hard" for trying too hard to sound "cool" instead of naturally sounding legit. Then realization drew a cringe from him mentally, made even worse by Ino's acknowledgement of his blatant attempt to impress her.

She didn't outright come out and call him out on the fact, but she smirked with a very distinct all-knowing feel, propping a hand on her hip, "You like me, don't you boo?" The tigress teased, advancing in on her docile tiger, hips rocking side to side.

"Uhh," A shade of dark crimson springing over his cheeks accentuated his shy embarrassment of the Kunoichi's advance on him, entirely too enchanted with the perfect rhythm her hips to answer her, "I-I guess," He said lamely, instantly recoiling when the girl lifted a delicate brow, "I mean, I do! I really do!" Darn it! Darn it! Darn it! He was completely blowing this.

"Aw, you really mean it?" She prodded, batting her eyelashes to lend her pupils a sparkling glow, "You would really marry little old me?" She took great pleasure watching the warrior's entire body stiffen up like he was shocked, "You said 'I do'."

The pressured preteen's mouth flopped for several excruciatingly long seconds, seconds which felt like agonizingly long hours to his panicked mind, "Uh." He settled for slurring again, posture uncomfortably backed up as the tigress invaded his personal space, "Maybe…?"

"Aw, really?" She cooed, bringing out the absolute most adorable of shy little nods from her little puppy boy toy, "Then in that case, you wouldn't mind doing me a favour, would you?" She set a delicate touch of her index finger on his chin, causing him to shiver against her skin.

Trunks opened his mouth, but nothing but the sounds of inhalations came out in slow drawls, blushing in the process, "D-Depends on what you're asking," He eventually stuttered.

The warmth of their close proximity ended without warning, "Good! Then you can start by getting me that pompous ass' scroll," She all but demanded, crossing her arms with a turn away from a slumped Trunks.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm not gonna-!" He tried, not knowing who he was trying to fool with his weak show of defiance. All Ino had to do to shatter his resistance was turn back to him and place her lithe finger back onto his chin and he was putty in her hands.

"Please," she said in that oh-so irresistibly defenceless young lady accent of hers. That alone would've been enough to assert her hold on Trunks, but just for added measure she took it one step further by cupping his cheeks and whispering seductively in his ear, "If you do, I'll reward you."

An intense breeze fabricated from immense speed rustled her loosened hair over her shoulder before she even registered the now vacant space in front of her.

"Back in a minute!" She heard Trunks holler up in the distance.

"Yes!" She bragged, clenching her fists and tucking her arms inward, "I knew this would work out! No boy even half into girls can resist me!"

A rustle of leaves caught her ear followed by the familiar footsteps of her assembled generational team, "That guy's a sap," The smartest member of the Ino-Shika-Cho team commented, posture slouched, "But that's cool. If you can get him to lead us to the tower this whole thing might not be such a drag."

Ino smirked, giggling smugly behind her hand, "I think that can be arranged, don't you Shika?"

"Man, you're evil. I like it."

xXx

Trunks nigh-instantly found the guy he assumed scrubbed off Ino's advances, if the bitterness of her tone were anything to go by. He was still fairly close to their location and his casual walk showed he was in no real hurry, though not like Trunks could blame him. The competition had only just begun ten minutes ago at most.

They hadn't even been going at each other's throats for an hour yet. A confident applicant wouldn't be sweating this early on and his poise spoke of nothing but sheer confidence that Trunks was going to take delight in shattering.

"Hey, you!" He issued with authority after stopping behind the boy with the outrageously long hair. Seriously, even his Dad didn't have that much hair, "You know what I want. Hand it over."

To his credit, if he flinch, he did a superb job suppressing it. He turned, showing Trunks frightening ice-cold acceptance in a pair of familiar pearlescent eyes without pupils. It was actually a little startling, if he was being honest with himself, just how accepting the boy appeared with the situation he was in. Granted, Trunks felt a great sense of satisfaction that he knew who he was dealing with but it was still a little odd to see him so docile with the possibility of losing his scroll.

He expected to see a little fear at least born from stubborn resistance. But absolute calm acceptance? That he didn't count on.

"So be it," Neji said in a smooth voice, removing a heaven scroll from his pouch which he then proceeded to hand over to Trunks. It took his brain a moment to process the fact he had been handed a scroll without so much as a fight before he took it dumbly, feeling like his body was acting on instinct, "Is it what you sought me out for, is it not?"

"Well, yeah," Trunks assured awkwardly, face contorting in a scowl, "Just thought you wouldn't be so quick to give it up like a total wuss."

Neji paid his immature slur no mind, "What good would it have brought me to fight a battle I was fated to lose?" He countered, drawing a raised eyebrow from the negative, pragmatic way he assessed his chances from the lavender-haired preteen.

"Oh, I don't know. Your pride maybe?"

He smirked an inch wider, "Pride is not a substitute for foolishness," He stated confidently, "Fate had already decreed you the victor the moment we initiated confrontation, and as they say, comes the victor goes the spoils."

"Whatever." Trunks dismissed, twisting away from the boy in a cool turn. If he chose to save his own bacon over reserving his pride as a warrior, then who was Trunks to force his hand? Neji was just making his life easier, so all in all, he would take the acceptance.

"Indeed," Neji said, and with that he departed to find another scroll.

The Hyuuga was rewarded with one last harsh glare of contempt for his awareness to back down in the face of a superior opponent from the half-breed, "Wuss," He murmured, casually flipping the retrieved heaven scroll up before balancing it on the tip of his index finger as he strode back over to Ino and her team, much to their visible delight.

"Alright! You got it!" Choji cheered, closing his bag of crisp to clap his hands.

"Yep," Trunks said with the utmost of nonchalance, flipping the procured heaven scroll to a thoroughly pleased Ino, her delighted expression telling him that was exactly the scroll they had needed to pass the second phase, "So, about that reward?"

A smile the combination of sly and dry curled Ino's pouty, moist lips, mesmerizing Trunks alone. The hybrid instinctively licked his suddenly dry lips, "Come here, you," She said, stroking the underside of Trunks' chin before gently wheeling him in, pressing her lips against his own in a soft mooch. The achieved milestone caused the hybrid's eyes to pop right open, both in shock and excitement of actually locking lips with a girl for the first time as he followed the rhythm of the girl's lips working against his, exhaling deeply into him both through her mouth and nostrils.

A soft moan echoed from Ino whilst her teammates looked on with peered opened eyes and faces on the verge of turning red. They attempted to cover their massive eyes with their hands, but their near teenage hormones complied them to see, and so, they pried apart their fingers, peering through the spaces to leer at their lone female eating the face of Trunks.

An lithe hand of Ino's slid up Trunks' chest, feeling the muscles underneath his dark jade-green gi-top before tangling her fingers through his spaghetti locks. Meanwhile, Trunks kicked his insecurity where it hurt the most, timidly snaking his arms around her slender waist and pressing her against him.

Lost in the moment, the high school-like teenage couple willingly discarded reality. Nothing else mattered but their lust and passion. Not their teams. Not the exam. Just them and the absolute sensation of inhaling each other's breathes and the feel of their tongues dancing around with the other like amateur dancers on the dance floor.

Eventually, though, as all good things must end, the need for the air became too great to ignore. Reluctantly they parted, their fingers gliding longingly across the other skin. Faces equally flushed, they heaved heavily, gazes alit with wonder.

"Wow," Trunks articulated himself, breathlessly.

"I'll say," Ino agreed. A smirk accentuated her glossy, pink lips, "So," She purred, pivoting and pressing her body up against the Saiyan's like an iron, hand reaching up to caress his chin, "How was it, handsome? Did it please you?~"

She could practically feel the heat of the young warrior's blush brightening his nervous visage like an electric radiator, "Heh," He chuckled uneasily, "Yeah, it was great."

"Aw, I'm so glad!~"

"Man," Trunks could almost feel his shoulders sagging in the relief with the distraction Ino's laziest teammate provided, "Think you two lovebirds could find a room or, you know, give us a warning next time," It was then that the couple fully took notice to Choji and Shikamaru, whose faces were still flushed in awkward embarrassment, "If I wanted to watch a couple make-out I'd hang with my old man."

"You're just jealous," Trunks countered coolly, finally distancing himself from Ino.

Shikamaru's glare couldn't get any less dry. Even the desert had little on it, "Really?" He deadpanned, sighing in irritation when Trunks shrugged, "You two are such a pain."

"Oh can it, Shika!" Ino demanded, "You wish you were half the man my guy is."

"Right, I'm not even gonna dignify that with a response, you troublesome woman."

While Ino and Choji snickered teasingly at their teammate, Trunks half-turned, jerking a thumb over his shoulder, "Right, whatever. Anyway, look, you got what you wanted, right? So I'm heading off now. I still need to find a Earth scroll for my own team and head back to them."

"Oh yeah!" Ino brightened, quickly latching onto her boyfriend's muscular bicep before he could all but teleport away with his insane, godlike level of speed, "Think you could do me one more itsy-bitsy favour?" Her eyes sparkled in the most cutesy-wootsy defenceless girl-in-need-of-assistance-act ever, "Pleaseeeee, boo. It'll only take a minute."

A dry smile of Trunks' own curled his lips, "Lemme guess, you want me to lead you guys to the tower, right?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

"I'm psychic," Trunks clarified with obvious sarcasm. Sighing in acceptance (an obvious show since he wanted Ino with him) Trunks jerked his head in the direction he was going to take before being interrupted, "Fine. Let's go, then. But I'm grabbing an Earth scroll before we head to the tower, cool?"

"Oh yeah, of course!~" Ino sang. The fact that she was even getting a free carry through the second phase of the exam so soon after it had already started was more than enough to leave Ino content with whatever pitstops her insanely powerful boyfriend made.

A carry was more than she could ask for in this scenario so she wasn't about to overstep her boundaries and risk having the invitation taken away. That wouldn't bode well for their insecurity.

They still hadn't ascertained how they would've gone about procuring a Heaven Scroll if not for Trunks doing it for them. Maybe it was due to their overwhelming lack of confidence in themselves as a team or their pragmatic outlooks, Team 10 didn't fancy their chances here.

The encounter with Neji alone had made it abundantly clear they sucked.

For heaven's sakes, he didn't even have to lay a finger on them. He merely taunted them and had them scurrying away with their tails between their legs.

No, their best and likely only option of getting through the second phase unscathed was to follow Trunks, and follow him they would as they fell in step with the ultra-powerful Genin, Ino clinging to his arm like a possessed lover.

"So, Trunks?" Choji said, offering conversation. He waited until Trunks looked over to him before voicing his enquiry, "Where's your team?"

"They woulda just got in my way, so I dropped them off by the tower," Trunks answered, waving his hand in dismissal.

A shade of awkward green shadowed Choji's swirly cheeks to the hybrid's apparent disdain of team, "W-Well, yeah! I guess with your strength you could finish the exam all on your own, right?" It may have just been Choji's sensitive side talking, but Trunks sounded so cold dismissing his team like that; like they were talentless newbies by comparison. To be fair, they likely were nothing compared to Trunks, but he didn't have to so insensitive about it.

"Pretty much," Trunks shrugged, "Can get around faster without hauling their butts along for the flight."

"That's my guy," Ino quipped dryly, snuggling against an effectively embarrassed Trunks until the implications of his last statement sunk in fully, "Wait," She said, peering up at his perplexed face in incredulity. Looks shared by her teammates, "You said 'flight'. Are you saying you can FLY?"

Trunks' confusion evaporated into tired recognition with a sigh. Ugh, stupid Lighter than Air technique being uncommon in the ninja lands. It made explanations of how he obtained it without sounding crazy a pain, "Well, yeah," He said, instantly scooping Ino up into his arms before rocketing to the sky in twisters, knocking the senses from Choji and Shikamaru as they gaped up at the two airborne teens.

"Whoa..."

"Unreal."

Choji and Shikamaru murmured respectively, gazes wide and alit with intense fascination and wondrous disbelief.

"S-Shikamaru," Not for the first time since encountering the wonder-boy did Choji's jaw feel incredibly stiffened like a bolt of lightning had shot down on him, "W-What he is?"

"I don't know," Shikamaru responded bluntly, eyes pinned to the standing figure above as though he were looking at another entity, wiping the sweat and consequently, the stunned amazement from his eyes, "But I'll tell you one thing he ain't; normal."

It was at that point that Trunks dropped from the sky, startling his fellow males as they hadn't even seen him move. To them, one moment he was in the air and the next he was beside them like he teleported. Although Choji settled quickly enough, concern softening his eyes to his dazed teammate resting limply in the hybrid's arms, looking out of it as her head hung from Trunks' arm.

"And that's how I do that," Trunks deadpanned.

Ino recovered quickly enough, a smirk appearing on her face from the position she was in, "Oh, so that's how you sweep a lady off her feet huh?" She teased, drawing a cringe from Trunks, "Mm-hmm. I see how it is," She drew closer to him, nuzzling against one of his cheeks while caressing the other with the palm of her hand, "So stud, how does it feel to hold me?"

There was only thing to say in this instance.

"Aw, crapbaskets."

Stupid Gohan and Goten.

* * *

 **So, yeah. I hope you all enjoyed this little special and I apologize that this isn't a normal chapter. I actually had most of chapter 12 done but when I reread it I realized I couldn't post it. I barely went anywhere despite all that I wrote so I figured, if I go in another direction I can speed things up significantly, h** **ence was** **a rewrite of chapter 12 was decided** **and a special chapter being put in its place.**

 **I will be back with an actual chapter soon, but until then, take care and have a happy new year.**


	13. Seeing is Believing

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or Naruto**

 **Hello, my good people. Here's formerly known as Thugs Bunny. Yes, I'm going by this name now. My undying love for female Ranma cannot be contained. I'm pretty much namin** **g all my accounts after her. It's funny, because I'm not fond of the series, (the anime series, that is, but I love the female version of the character, so there you go)**

* * *

The waiting room the newbie four of entry Genin had sauntered into was nothing short of exactly that; a small, box-shaped room with white painted walls and two beige two-piece coloured sofas on either side of a chocolate brown coloured table with a vase of flowers in it. Standard procedure really as far as waiting rooms went.

There was even a water dispenser tucked right away in the corner, offering wary applicants a chance to quench their thirst.

"So," Naruto said, gulping down a lump of nerves with a calming breath, still a little in disbelief the journey to this point had been such a casual walk in the easy park. Even with the run in with the masqueraded Grass ninja and haste to get indoors before sundown the difficulty never went past moderate. His luck was either really that godly or his buddy was just that godly, though he knew it was a combination of both.

He was fortunate to have the alien powerhouse, both on his team and especially in his life, and he wouldn't turn him away for the world. Even if Goten was a complete stand-out oddity, Naruto's plethoric feelings of brotherly love for the wild-haired jungle boy remained as solidified as it was before.

If anything, the revelation made Naruto resonate with Goten even more. He may not have been an alien himself, but monster vessels weren't particularly common either, making him as much as an oddity as Goten was, and that realization alone made his heart skip a beat.

He truly wasn't alone anymore.

"We wait," Sasuke intoned, ever the blunt one. Naruto agreed, nodding before following the Uchiha's roaming gaze to their tailed companion just as he nonchalantly ambled over to the water dispenser, poured himself a plastic cup of water and seated himself leisurely, innocently swinging his legs back and forth as though he was on a swing.

Sakura sighed, shrugging her shoulders slightly at another of the young powerhouse's adorable displays, strolling over to him before delicately pulling herself beside him with her knees pressed together like an elegant lady, smiling sweetly at him when he looked her way with big, onyx eyes.

Naruto whined, silently lamenting his missed chance to sit next to the lovely Sakura Haruno, in his rose-tinted perception of the girl. He inevitably accepted his "torture" of sitting next to "Mr Big" (again, in his biased view of the Uchiha), but not without a lot of visible bellyaching. The two academy-bred rivals glared heatedly at each other, pushing against the other's shoulder as they fought their way over to the water dispenser, fighting with each other over who got to pour themselves a cup first.

Eventually, they tied, each managing to fill their cups at about the same time, but not without making one hell of a mess, spilling water everywhere and up their sleeves and arms.

They looked thoroughly petty, begrudgingly sitting beside each other huffing and puffing and soaked to the bone with their cups resting on their knees to Sakura, which was a first for her. She couldn't recall ever seeing her precious Uchiha specimen as childish. Naruto? Definitely. She saw him as annoying on a daily basis, but Sasuke was always this cool, mysterious youth she so desperately wanted to hold hands with, followed by all adult-rated activities once she hit puberty.

This new sense of neutrality in which she was viewing her long-time crush with was a little startling if she was being wholly honest with herself.

She shook her head gently, looking to deflect her thoughts from her growing unwanted maturity elsewhere. A distraction just happened to be sitting beside her, happily sipping on his water with both palms wrapped around the cup like a baby afraid to spill his juice, "So, Goten," She said, gently grabbing his attention. Large doe eyes turned her way, "How'd you, uh, arrive on earth?" She asked, sliding a hand up her arm to rub nervously, not helped by Goten's tilt of the head, "I mean, if you're an alien."

Truth be told, the cherry-blossom haired kunoichi was genuinely curious about that and just how that went down. She would assume his family went unnoticed just for the fact his existence was unknown to many.

"What made you decide to come to Earth?" She specified when she gathered the words.

"Yeah!" She wasn't the only one curious of Goten's apparent settling in period. Naruto was too. To be fair, he had been dying to be told the story of Goten's alien heritage the very moment his roommate told him he was one but Sakura forced him to put his desires on hold, so they could tackle their main priority; namely, taking shelter before the sun set and avoid risking their strongest member turning into a goddamned giant ape.

They weren't willing to doubt his word, not after they interacted with him as much as they have done. They all felt they each had a pretty clear understanding of how Son Goten operated, even if Sasuke wasn't as close to him as Sakura and Naruto was. He was gullible, kind and all too honest, even for his own good.

There was little chance of him lying to them over something that would very likely be the death of them; him going on a berserker rampage. That just wasn't Goten.

"Um," It took a minute for his brain to click and work out their misinterpretation of his alien heritage but eventually he exhaled in realization, "Oh! I know what you mean now!" Sakura encouraged him to continue with a sweet smile while Naruto nodded affmatively. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I was born on earth. My Dad's the one who came from outer space."

Curiosity plagued Naruto, "Really?"

"Uh-huh. So did Trunks' Dad too!"

"Wait," Sasuke found his way into the conversation, fingers intertwined and hands bridged over his nose now that his water rested on the table between them, baritone voice nonchalant as a passing, leisurely breeze, "If they're the only ones who came from outer space, then that would mean they're the only full aliens? The rest of you are only half-breeds, right?"

The wild-haired Saiyan nodded with the slightest drip of hesitation, "Uh-huh." He found it a bit odd to be referred to as what he literally was instead of his race's name, like he was an oddity. All in fairness, to them he really was, but to himself and his own peacefully assured mind he was as normal as the next human. You know, just with the ability to fly and possessing enhanced strength no ordinary human could ever dream of having.

…Okay, maybe he knew he wasn't all that normal, but he felt confident anyone could get his point. He didn't consider himself anymore special than the next average run of the mill joe.

Sasuke closed his eyes with a leisured inhale, silent intake of air as refreshing as the water sat in between his elbows, "I see."

"Wait a minute," Naruto said, eyes squinted and arms bound over his chest impatiently, "Half-breeds? So does your Dad and Trunks' Dad look more alien than you guys?"

Before Goten could answer, Sakura's voice laced with curiosity echoed startlingly close to his ear, "He does have a point." He jumped slightly, turning wide eyes into the close view of emerald-leaf green pupils, though his discomfort went unnoticed by her, "You really don't look like an alien." (Beside the tail, he was wholly humanoid in appearance) She either didn't notice or just didn't care, so engrossed in her action of searching for any small alien feature she could find. Not even the slightly visible inhales of a nervous, warm breath blowing over her skin or how her target was seemingly moving away from her could make her aware. Her body was on auto-pilot, closing every distance made until none could, even propping her knees up on the couch to better crawl forward to Goten's face.

"Um, Sakura," Finally, Goten's tiny voice combed with awkwardness got her to snap out of her tunnel vision to see his reddened face brightened like a tomato, "You're making me feel weird."

She blinked, finally taking explicit notice to the position she accidently crawled into before looking to the rival twosome where the two's expressions said it all really, mostly Naruto's. He was practically ready to eat away at his jumpsuit in panicked horror at seeing the "girl of his dreams" leaning so intimately over his best pal as if she was getting ready to lay the most passionate of wet ones on him.

Sasuke looked like he could barely care less, at least on the surface. It might have just been her being paranoid, but she could've sworn she had seen the slightest semblance of hope in his posture in the way he narrowly moved an inch closer to his seat and rose his eyebrows a touch.

Either way, when she caught sight of those stares and realized her suggestive positioning she quickly scooted away from the boy she was over with a speed comparable to a burst of the body flicker jutsu, pressing her arms self-consciously over her chest with a nervous laugh, paying no mind to Naruto's visible exhale of relief as the blond rinsed his forehead with the back of his hand, "Uh, sorry, Goten." For heaven's sakes, what was she thinking? She must have frightened the poor boy.

Goten didn't answer, tore between his body's natural reaction to Sakura's inadvertent advance and his own shyness. He liked being close to her, close enough to where he could smell her strawberry-flavoured shampoo scent and feel her smooth skin against his own. He felt terribly embarrassed to feel his body reacting so positively to a girl, but he couldn't help it.

He may actually _like-like_ Sakura.

Words and even any thoughts were lost to him like the sands of time as he settled for staring blankly at the girl beside him, the increasing thuds of his heart beat growing louder with each beat like impatient knocks on his door nowhere near as noticeable as the suddenly potent strawberry scent of Sakura.

The girl noticed his blank stare but didn't know what to make of it. It didn't match any emotion. No frown, raised eyebrow, pulsed lips, or even a scowl or blush to convey any such corresponding emotion like confusion, annoyance or embarrassment (though she highly doubted sweet little Goten liked her in that manner). He just… stared, like she was the alien and not the reverse.

It was a slightly off-putting just how profound his blank stare was if she was being honest with herself.

In the end, she concluded he likely considered her weird for her previous random action but was too considerate to voice his less than savoury thoughts of her as the likely reason for his unmoving stare.

Unsure what to do to placate the awkward tension so thick she was sure it would've taken a machete to cut through it completely, she twirled a long strand of her long cherry-blossomed hair around a finger and turned away from him with her knees pressed together, ruining her intentions of "closure" entirely with the small peeks she tossed his way, only to find he was still looking at her regardless.

Silence reigned like the king.

Always one to make efforts, Naruto tried his best hand of shattering the ice that formed out of nowhere with a fine sledge hammer, "So, uh, any other aliens beside Saiyans," He wore his best let's-get-back-to-normal helpful smile, brimming and shining so bright with warm, radiating good-natured intentions, which made it all the more crushing when no one answered him, not even Goten. Slowly, the curls of his lips uncurled to a harsh, flatline before he pried his lips open to flash his pearly white teeth in a depressive scowl, "Damn it."

And so, against all the odds, team seven sat in total silence and not of the mutual variety.

Irony was such a funny thing, Naruto mused. There hadn't been a silence of this level since Goten joined the roster, and it looked increasing less likely one would ever arouse so long as he remained on their squad; such was the positivity and good-natured intent he constantly exuded. To think Goten would be the cause of an awkward silence? Naruto never would've imagined it.

He didn't blame him, though. He was just bang unlucky to be in an incident he didn't know how to appropriately deal with it.

Naruto just wished his roommate's indecisiveness hadn't resulted in one of the most tortuous long minutes of foot-tapping boredom to ever plague a team, and he wasn't the only one. Sasuke was right in that boat with him, funnily enough.

He did have an unbidden preference for quiet environments, but that didn't mean he tolerated awkward ones. If he had a choice between an awkward silence and normal chit-chat around him, he would definitely choose the latter.

Company couldn't have come fast enough to save the team from the all-encompassing void of bored silence they were in. Naruto took off like a rocket the instance the door slid open, squeaking out a hasty "Yes!" an obvious side-effect of his sitting still in an uncomfortable silence for too long.

The blond who'd walked in, who looked suspiciously like an older male version of the Yamanaka on the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, raised his eyebrow to Naruto's hasty greeting, but otherwise ignored it, "O… kay," He said, slowly, drawing a sheepish laugh from his fellow blond while the boy beside him and the pink-haired kunoichi rolled their eyes.

He turned and approached their tailed teammate. Their eyes watched him closely, "Are you Trunks?" He asked when he stopped before him, not sure why he did.

Goten blinked, aiming a lithe index finger at himself, "No, I'm Goten, mister. Trunks is my best friend."

Sparkling sea blue eyes faded by hurt turned his way, "Aw, I thought I was your best friend."

Goten hastily lifted his palms, desperate to placate his likely second best friend's crushed feelings, "Oh no! You're one of my best friends!" But… A but went unsaid. The subtle indication of his palms balling up into small fists gave him away.

"But I'm not your _best_ friend, am I?" Naruto pressed him, uncharacteristically harsh. Goten's soft wince said it all, the desperate resolute expression falling in sync with his hands.

Sakura turned a scolding glare on Naruto, "Naruto, cut it out!" She screeched, shaking her fist like it was the deadliest weapon known to men, though in truth, it probably was to Naruto. He cringed and cowed away from her, missing the roll of the eyes from the Uchiha, "Trunks has known Goten longer, you know?"

It didn't matter how well they had kicked off their relationship. Trunks still had seniority. Goten would have been so dishonourable calling Naruto his "best friend", essentially saying all they went through meant little if his small time with another meant just as much if not more. Naruto needed to understand that.

"They've gone through a lot, Naruto," Sakura insisted, in a much softer tone now that Naruto was under control, hands pressed against her bosom, "I mean, they probably grew up together. They're childhood friends for goodness sakes!"

Naruto cringed, hard. Sakura didn't know it, but she hit a sore spot. He didn't say anything and a silent Naruto revealed it all. He slid a glance, almost longingly, to the Uchiha beside him, but he only turned his nose up and shifted his head from him which in turn quickly soured any hidden desire in Naruto to acknowledge any companionship or mutual respect they may have shared in their earlier adolesance.

"Fine…" He conceded, miserably.

"Naruto," Sakura melted, eyes softening at the clear hurt conveyed in his tone and in his usual shining crystalline eyes of eternal happiness and unbreakable resolve. Goten was his first friend; the first real connection he had made with someone his own age. It was only natural he would desire nothing else but for their friendship to be special, and a friendship couldn't get any more special than the two friends in question being besties.

But – He wasn't Goten's first friend.

Goten shared Sakura's condolences and guilt for the unnaturally depressive blond sitting across from him, wanting to reach out to him, but didn't in fear of damaging their already sinking relationship beyond repair. Eyes softening on Naruto's sulky face turned up and away from the Uchiha beside him, Goten shifted his attention to the forgotten man, hoping whatever he wanted with his _best friend_ would be enough to deflect the conversation and dispel the awkward atmosphere.

"O… kay," Inoichi said, with all the uncertainty of a parent asking their child how a video game worked, "So, you must be Goten then, I take it?"

Goten nodded blankly. From the corner of his eye he noticed the inquisitive stares his teammates paid Inoichi. Relief cooled his bones like a cup of cold water, "Uh-huh. That's right. How do you know my name, mister?"

"From the Hokage," He clarified, "He would like an audience with you if you don't mind coming along."

"No, but," He felt himself slipping from his place beside Sakura even before the words came out, such was his polite and passive demeanour, "How come?" He tilted his head, "Am I in trouble?"

Inoichi laughed, "Oh, it's nothing like that," He assured, waving off the boy's absolutely adorable doubts. He was like a kid getting called to the principle's office, "Lord Hokage just wants to know about your new flurry friend there, is all."

As if on its own accord, his tail slithered up and over his shoulder, and his cheeks burned in embarrassment at the oversight, "Oh right."

He had to laugh. Like on everyone else he had ever come across in his life let alone in the ninja realm, Goten's cute effect was irresistible. He gestured over to the door with a flick of his head, offering, "Shall we?"

He turned his head over to Sakura, silently asking her permission like a little brother looking for reassurance from his elder sister. Sakura giggled, feeling flattened that he would look to her for guidance despite his seemingly limitless power, "Go on, Goten. It's an order from Lord Hokage." Meaning he was obligated to appear before the leader of the village. An order couldn't be refused, even if she didn't think the old man was really all that they say he was.

Goten nodded, head turning to Naruto, but beyond the belief flicker of the eyes in obvious curiosity, the blond Jinchuuriki showed no signs of acknowledging the silent plead in his gaze. He didn't know whether Naruto had simply forgotten their earlier altercation or he merely wished to avoid talking about it but he didn't want to risk it.

He turned back to Inoichi with a firm nod and tightly clinched fists of resolute resolve, not really knowing why he was so confident, "I'm ready."

Inoichi didn't seem put off by his unusual determined reply. They were just going to pay the Hokage a visit. He wasn't in trouble if how the leader of the village had requested him to escort boy, "Let's go, then." With a gesture of his head, he led the boy out the room.

Basking in the content silence on the route to the Hokage's temporary office, Inoichi allowed his gaze to wonder to the boy's spiky head, 'Hard to imagine this kid's going to go down as the one who killed the judas of the legendary sannin,' He mused, scrutinizing him closer, 'Beside the obvious elephant in the room, he just looks like any other kid.'

Of course, appearances could be deceiving, which just made him all the more desperate to peek into his mind and see the real depths of his hidden power or the clarification he truly was as powerful as his accomplishment demanded. He had a terrible feeling deep in his gut the knowledge would haunt him, but as a mind reader he couldn't fight the urge to see what the boy was hiding in his small stature.

"Um, excuse me, mister," He was reared back in from his musings by the boy's gentle request. Soft-spoken on top of being child-sized. He definitely didn't have the image of what anyone would expect of being capable of slaying one of the most powerful ninjas to ever roam the planet.

"Yeah," He said, blinking his eyes oddly at his diminutive stature.

"Does Lord Hokage need to see Trunks too?" He asked, furrowing his brow, "Because he's here too."

"Oh, no," He excused, "The Hokage only wants to see you because of your exploits and tail regrowth."

"Exploits?"

"You know."

"No."

'Ugh,' He groaned silently, palming his forehead and curling the fangs of his blond hair through his fingers. He had to remember he was a kid – a disgustingly powerful kid – but a kid nonetheless and they by definition weren't very smart. "Does the name Orochimaru ring any bells?"

"Orochimaru?"

"Yeah," He scrolled his eyes down to him with renewed curiosity, "Didn't you encounter one of the legendary sannin during your time in the Forest of Death?"

Goten folded his arms, scrunching up his face in pensive thought. With a prolonged hum, he finally answered, "Um, I fought a really creepy bad guy, but I don't know if he was one of those legendary sann'e guys," He blinked in sudden recognition. "Oh! Now that you mention it, I don't think I got his name at all," He shrugged, "Or what he was. He was weird! I think he could change forms or something. He was a girl first then a boy!"

Inoichi took in the boy's frantic, ditzy retelling of his earlier opponent sensibly, 'That must've been Orochimaru.' He wouldn't have past the fiendish snake to have come up with a jutsu that allowed him to completely alter his form and chakra-make up. He doubted it was just a transformation jutsu, just for the fact that low grade academy-level technique had limitations. It could easily be detected by other high-level shinobi. Considering his infiltration outlasted the entire first phase of the Chunin Exams, there was no way he could've been using an ordinary transformation jutsu to disguise himself.

They took a fright of stairs up to the highest floor before stopping at an ornate brown door, 'This is going to be an experience.' He mused, dry gaze on the boy by his side, 'I can just see it.' With a click of the door's handle and a prolonged creak of its frame, the Yamanaka head clan leader pushed open the door, ushering the boy through.

The wild-haired boy blinked at the faces of the purple-haired snake mistress and her assistants before settling on the one face other than the Hokage that he recognized, giving him his usual smiley face, "Oh, hi ya Mr Kakashi!~" He practically dazzled everyone in the room with a smile so bright, jogging up to his sensei.

Kakashi's expression brightened, relief easing the tension in his shoulders like a much-needed massage to see the boy in his usual manner. He had been terribly worried for Goten's mental state since learning of his slaying of Orochimaru from Hiruzen, so seeing him still being himself put some of that doubt to bed, "Why, hello to you, too, Goten," He greeted, "How are finding the exam so far?"

He stopped to think about it, finger on his chin, "Hm, the first part was a little boring," His smile recurred, even brighter than before, "But the second part was pretty fun! We got here in just under an hour! How cool is that?"

"Very," Kakashi agreed, on the surface looking amused but, on the inside, feeling perturbed at the boy's description of the second half of the exam – where he fought and presumably slayed one of the legendary sannin – as fun, 'This could be bad. I hope this doesn't just mean he's suppressing his encounter with Orochimaru.' Because it never does a shinobi's physic any good suppressing traumatizing events. It was his ideology that shinobi had to be able accept their own deeds as neither nor wrong, but a necessary evil for the sake of their villages or themselves, and to come to terms with their own mortality.

Killing could be neither right nor wrong objectively. It was only such in one's perspective of the deed in his opinion on the subject.

Kakashi's lone eye drifted over to his Konoha comrade. A contemplative raise of the eyebrow suggested her thoughts were along the same wavelength as his, though the amused smirk curling across her lips hinted she was most likely impressed by his suggestion of finding enjoyment in killing.

He wasn't surprised. Anko wasn't evil, but due to her upbringing she had developed a ruthless edge about her. She almost considered killing a hobby, 'Heh, so killing the snake bastard was fun, huh?' She mused. Kakashi was suddenly thankful Goten was as airheaded as Naruto, because he was sure he would've been creeped out by the predatory look of interest she was sending him.

A gnarled warm chuckle brought Goten's attention to the man who had requested his presence in the first place, "Well, I am pleased you have found the Chunin exams so enjoyable, young man," He approved, outwardly, "Quite unusual, if I may say. Chunin applicants do not usually find enjoyment in this difficult exam, but, if I dare say, there is not many young shinobi as talented as you."

"Hi, Lord Hokage!" He beamed, immediately shrinking when his mind went over the Hokage's praise of him, cheeks lighting up, "Uh-huh."

The smile over Hiruzen's face warmed like a radiator being dialled up a notch. So precious, "And what do we have here?" He teased, drawing a blink of doe eyes from the boy, "I do not believe you introduced me to your tail companion."

The boy's cheeks burned red, "Oh, right. I forgot. Um," He glanced over to the tall blond-haired gentleman who shared strong resemblances with his best friend's girlfriend (though he wasn't sure if Ino and Trunks were an item, he was just certain she liked him), seeming to hint at his identification with his eyes.

The clan leader of the mind readers was more than happy to oblige with a well-mannered smile, "Inoichi Yamanaka."

He beamed, smiling with a luminescence only comparable with the sun itself, "Right! Mr Yamanaka told me you wanted to know about my tail."

"Mr Yamanaka," Inoichi repeated, sounding playfully offended, "Oh, come off it. I'm not old."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't-!"

-But a certain mistress wasn't letting him off the hook that easily, roaring with loud, brassy laughter with a wild toss of her purple head, ponytail whipping about in the fabricated breeze the shake had picked up, "Hahaha! Well you hear the kid, old timer! You're an old fart!" She teased, shooting him a savage grin, "Better start planning your retirement before he does it."

"Don't be ridiculous, Anko," Inoichi insisted with an awkward bead of sweat trailing down his cheek in sync with the similarly awkward grin crossing half of his lips.

Anko snorted, blowing off his non-serious claim of her exaggeration with a hand tossed over her shoulder, "You wish! This kid took out that snake bastard Orochimaru," She jerked a thumb at said kid, who was just giving the pair of them a series of rapid blinks of his wide eyes, "As far as I'm concerned he could retire all of us."

"Orochimaru?"

"You're kidding!" She snapped her head startingly toward him, mollified, "Damn kid, you took out Orochimaru and didn't even get his name." It was with that acknowledgement that her expression morphed into one of impressed amusement, palm wrapped slyly over her chin, "I like your style."

"Um, okay."

Inoichi shook his head, pitying the pre-pubescent boy's struggle to relate to the brassy woman's brash manner of speaking, "Orochimaru is that "weird" guy you fought earlier," He got nothing. "The one you mentioned could take the form of a girl. That was Orochimaru, Lord Hokage has confirmed."

There was a response. It was as if somewhere deep in his psyche he hit a switch and turned off the light. His previously relaxed and easy-going demeanour hardened, eyes filling with cold fury and posture stiffening, "He was a bad guy," He almost growled, fists clenching tight at his sides. The adults around him exchanged worrying, contemplative looks, but he cared little of them, "He was going to hurt my friends!"

'Goten,' Kakashi mused, eye lingering with contemplative worry on his regressed demeanour. A turn of his spiky silvery-grey head brought his gaze to Hiruzen's understanding one. A nod of the grand leader's head conveyed all that needed to express.

He would handle it.

"Well then, it appears you were able to protect your comrades," No other words were better said and at a better time. The switch was off, returning the cheerful elation to his eyes once more.

"Yeah! I protected everyone this time!" He said so innocently enough, with happy pride for preserving the wellbeing of his friends, but the hidden implications in his words brought raised eyebrows out of Anko and Inoichi, the only two in the room who didn't know of his battle with Super Buu.

'This time?' Inoichi wandered, some understanding dawning on him. If he had faced some kind of tragedy like losing a loved one like he was implying then his previous repressed state of mind suddenly made sense. From his experience in his line of work, humans, (or beings in his case) always instinctively looked to protect their psyche when faced with traumatizing events they weren't prepared to endure, even if that meant distancing themselves from their emotions. 'So young and it already looks like he's suffered tragedy.'

"I would certainly hope so, if you are here," Hiruzen teased, "Do you recall the obligation needed to be allowed past this point?"

"Um. Bring both scrolls?"

"No… Well, that too," Hiruzen clarified, smoothing his sweaty cheek with a handkerchief, "I mean another specific obligation involving each of your teammates."

The warm glow of his huge eyes suddenly flooded the room with its radiance of recognition, "Oh, I remember now! We all had to make it here together in one piece!"

Hiruzen smiled in warm approval, proud that he wasn't as absent-minded as he looked initially, "Precisely," He said, "You met the obligation admirably, showing you hold the Will of Fire."

"Will of fire?"

Cornered away in the furthest ends of the kind leader's predominantly light heart smudges of dark gathered, "Yes," He clarified, smile still warm like a fire, "It is a metaphor to symbolize camaraderie and the bond we all share as leaf shinobi."

Those large eyes of his, already so luminous they could light up a dark house, essentially erupted with the emission of a brilliant light of admiration, "Oh, wow!" He beamed, fists clenched in front of him. The glow dimmed with a raise of an eyebrow, fingers unfolding as one went to his chin thoughtfully, "So that means we're all friends?"

"Even more, in fact."

A tilt of the head, "It is?"

"Yes," He gently corrected, guiding him along the path of eternal Konoha-loyalty like a patient fatherly mentor tutoring his promising disciple, "Like family. The bond we share as comrades is closely comparable to a family. It symbolizes our devotion and affection for each other. That is what it means to be a bearer of the Will of Fire, to care for each of your comrades as you would your own family."

The feels hit him harder than any punch from Buu ever could. Being a sentimental boy at heart, the fastest route to empathizing with him was to give an inspiring heartfelt speech of solidarity. In his ignorance of the world, he had often envisioned a peaceful world where everyone got along, because he was, after all, just a child, no matter how powerful he was or how many emotions he suppressed.

"Wow," He all but whispered, breathless. He lowered his gaze, eyeing his palms with a pensive frown, "I don't think I'm ready for the Will of Fire." For even as appealing as a world of complete empathy was, he wasn't sure he could just call anyone a close friend without knowing them on a personal level. He much preferred to form a connection with them through interactions.

Hiruzen understood this, "That is acceptable," He assured, "You are the correct path to truly to be capable of holding the Will of Fire and that is what is most important."

The bright-eyed Saiyan youth's smile returned in full, "Got it!"

Hiruzen nodded, "Well now, it appears we have drifted away from matters, haven't we?"

"Yeah, I guess we did," Goten laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "That was really silly of us, huh Lord Hokage?"

"Nonsense," Hiruzen said, "What is life without all the little detours, eh?"

"I guess so."

Hiruzen nodded in assurance before his expression smoothed out. He turned his head over to Inoichi, giving him a nod.

The Yamanaka nodded back in quick understanding, moving in front of a perplexed Goten. Hoping to ease his worries, he offered him a friendly, assuring grin, "Now, Goten, I'm going to need you to trust me." He lowered himself to a knee, grasping his shoulder with a gentle grip, "Is that okay?"

Goten blinked, staring blankly into eyes of kind reassurance and confidence, "Um, okay," He shrugged, "What're you gonna do, though?"

Forever the blunt one, Anko supplied, leaning nonchalantly against the wall with an arm cocked behind her head, "He's gonna read your mind, kid."

He looked over at her with mild surprise and then back at Inoichi. The mind reader found nothing of detriment to his task. Only earnest curiosity, "You can read minds?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Yes," He clarified, "But you needn't worry, I don't have to rea-."

"That's so cool!"

That caught him off-guard. He looked quite bamboozled at the boy staring back at him with eyes so wide and lit with excitement. He expected him to be a little wary of someone probing his mind for potentially sensitive memories he wanted to keep hidden from the world, but this boy with eyes so clear was as honest as they come. He had nothing to hide.

"Yes, I guess it is," He smiled nervously. His expression quickly calmed as he locked gazes with him seriously, "Just relax for a moment. This will only take a minute."

"Oh, okay," Goten obeyed, relaxing his posture as his arms dropped to his sides.

Inoichi smiled gently, already feeling a small sense of endearment despite their lack of interactions and general unfamiliarity. The meeting had gone by a lot more smoothly than he could've hoped it would considering the surreal topics they had to discuss, and that was all down to his easy-going and truthful nature. He was almost certain nothing of any horrifying variety that he could find in his mindscape could make him think otherwise.

 _Almost._

Key word.

He was glad he wasn't one hundred percent certain because what it found in the seemingly innocent youth terrified him more than the grim reaper himself, _spearing_ a fear so sharp in his heart he froze momentarily, eyes bulging and filling with panic of a kind unheard of.

He promptly pushed himself away from the child of memories unfathomable, heart rate racing over ten times the speed of Lord Fourth's signature Flying Thunder God jutsu. There wasn't even a smudge of colour left on his face that wasn't the clear through one of the beads of sweat raining down his paled countenance.

Such an heavily shocked reaction of gazing into the boy's mind had his colleagues on edge. "What?" Anko demanded, "What'd you see in the kid's head?"

But there was only one thing he could say.

"Good. Lord. Just where in the cosmos have you come from?"

New Kids on the Block

 **C**

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 **THIRTEEN**

Seeing is Believing

The creak and a low thud of a door closing accompanied Goten's exit from Hiruzen's office.

"I wonder what that was all about," He asked himself, strolling down the hall. After the mind reader calmed from the shock of whatever sightings he had come across in Goten's mind had caused him, he verified something that Goten didn't understand to Hiruzen. After Hiruzen assured him he wasn't in any trouble of the sort for worrying Inoichi, he was dismissed and so, here he was, sauntering away from a meeting that had left him very much in the dark.

"My mind can't be that scary," He mumbled. At least he hoped not because what did that say about him exactly if his mere thoughts could frighten someone so immensely? An idea blossomed in his head, "Oh! He might have seen Buu!" That seemed logical. All of his terrifying experiences with the fiendish terror of sugary delight were as much apart of his memories as his early childhood, and thus they were susceptible to being read.

"I hope he's okay," He prayed, feeling guilty for being the cause of such distress to someone.

Thankfully, as though god himself was offering him a distraction from his self-conscious reflecting, the familiar voice of his closest friend rang by his ear when he came to the end of a corridor, "Yo."

His eyes momentarily widened in surprise before he twirled around to meet the lavender-haired Saiyan's cool smirk, "Hey, Trunks!" He greeted. Trunks' smug smile warmed from his perch leaned up against the wall, "What's up?"

"I could ask you the same question," He countered, lifting an eyebrow, "You got your tail back?"

"Uh-huh!" Goten beamed, because of course he did. Sweet, innocent and unperceptive Goten. Sometimes, especially now where they were in the world where everyone would question their powers, Trunks envied his ignorance, "Cool, huh?"

"'Cool' is, uh, not the right word I'd use, pal," He grinned, drawing a giggle from his long-time friend. Just then, his smile hardened deviously, "I bet your team must've freaked out when they got a load of that, huh!?"

"No."

…

…

Well, that was a buzzkill.

"Uh… okay," Trunks was bamboozled, looking at Goten oddly. He could've sworn at least Naruto would've been screaming like a little girl at his sight of his roommate growing a freaking tail of all things. Common for them and anyone in the know how of their world but certainly not in the one they were in, "You serious?"

"Uh-huh!" Goten nodded peppily, "Naruto and Sakura didn't mind. I think Mr Sasuke didn't either, but…"

"Yeah, yeah. Got it." The Uchiha could be hard to read. He was mostly reserved choosing to keep himself to himself, "So how'd you guys get on out there?" He asked, gesturing with his head to the outside past the walls of the building they currently resided in as he pushed himself from his perch and begin a steady walk down another corridor.

"Hm, It was okay," Goten said, falling in step with Trunks, "Oh, but I fought a really creepy bad guy!"

Blue eyes darkened with dangerously dry annoyance in his direction with a slight turn of the head, "Oh really?"

"Yeah!" He beamed back obliviously, "He was so creepy! I think he could transform. He came to us as a girl but after I beat him up, he changed into a boy. Creepy, huh!?"

"Uh-huh..."

"But then he said he was gonna hurt my friends and that made me mad," He scrunched up his face, puffing out his cheeks like a pouty puppy, "So I beat him once and for all with my Kamehamaha my big brother Gohan taught me!"

That was seemingly all Trunks was waiting to hear, "So that was you!"

Goten flinched, suddenly looking like a deer caught in the headlights, "Um."

"Don't try and deny it, you doofus!" He demanded, hooking a powerful grip of his arm around Goten's neck and forcing him beneath his armpits, ignoring his cry as he grinded his knuckles into his spiky head, "What the heck's the big idea shooting blasts _that_ big, idiot?! Do you want everyone to find out about us?!"

"Ouch, Trunks! That hurts!"

"Well, answer me!"

"I had to! He was a bad guy!"

"Well you sure as heck could've condensed the blast! Ever think of that?"

"No..."

"You better next time! Look at me. I fought a darned raccoon guy and do you hear me scaring the pants out of your girlfriend, huh!"

"Ouch, Trunks! Stop! That hurts!"

"Never!"

* * *

 **I think that's a good stopping point. End on a lighthearted note of a rather dark chapter. Hiruzen's trying and succeeding** **to manipulate Goten into committing his undying** **l** **oyalty to Konoha, Naruto's jealous of Goten's closeness to Sakura AND Trunks' seniority to Goten all in one, Goten might be falling for Sakura, Sakura might be growing up and Sasuke and Kakashi are just** **themselves** **... Pure awesome.**

 **Good to be back on track.**

 **See ya in another 4 months. Hehe.**


	14. Planning Ahead

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or Naruto**

 **Because I love you all so much, here's another chapter "3 months early" :D**

* * *

Anko impatiently watched the youth of apparent memories too terrifying for even a mind reader to endure exit the office; essentially trying to repel him away with her ferociously antsy gaze. The thump of the door shutting completely was sweeter than any track could be at that moment to her.

Without even waiting a second to assure the boy wasn't in range to eavesdrop, she rounded unsympathetically on the thoroughly spooked clan leader like a thunderous wind, "Mind explaining just what the hell you saw in that kid's head?" The small sound of rustling clothes alerted her to the raise of a gloved hand, "Kakashi?!" She caught his eye, filled with patience and understanding, and understood what he was trying to convey with an added shake of the head.

Give him a moment.

…Because he surely needed it.

He was out of it, shaking uncontrollably like his life had just been forfeited with his palms grasping his head. Eyes were stretched to lengths he could didn't even think were imaginable, rattling continuously like a baby's toy, "Those. kids," He said, in between huge inhales, "Are from another planet." And he didn't even mean literally. Just figuratively to summarize the unattainable levels of sheer power they were on above everyone else not just in Konoha, but the world.

Time seemingly slowed to a crawl for Inoichi's audience in the moments the Yamanaka clan leader preciously grabbled up to calm from his near death-like experience. He straightened and placed a palm on his rapidly beating heart before taking in an extended, quiet intake of soothing air.

They watched him with bated breaths as he did.

When he was finally able to look each of them in the eye with some restored clarity, the first piece of information he relayed from his sightings in Goten's head blew their minds, "They have the power to destroy planets."

NANI!

Thunder strokes struck down from the heavens, paralysing the three of Inoichi's audience in their places. Trembling eyes enlarged with disbelief, mouths pried open (even Kakashi's beneath his mask) they were the personification of slack-jawed spitless.

"You're kidding!" Anko said, half-pleading, half-demanding. Her resolve faltered when the mind reader gave her the deadliest serious look she had ever seen with a shake of the head. Sharp as a razor blade and one even a judge would've balked at, "That's… nuts." That declaration felt painfully underwhelming even to her, but every last cell of her brain was so fried to their roots she felt she was due leeway in failing to find the right words to summarize the absolute bombshell Inoichi had dropped on them.

She'd heard and experienced some of the most bizarre phenomenon during her time as a shinobi, and even learnt of the all-time greats in her youth years spent honing her craft in the academy. She was confident nothing of the supernatural or inhuman variety could fossil her in horror, throw her way off her game but that had to take the cake.

Planet busters? The thought was impossible to wrap a head around, even with top notch one hundred percent validation from a mind reader. It was fictional shit found in an action story based around gods. The title itself, which there were such a thing, belonged to gods or godlike entities, not to _two kids._ Even if those wet-behind-the-ears pups could hang with the big dogs down the lane no other pup had a right to pick a bone with, having the power to erase planets was a step well beyond the realm of believability.

It could not be swallowed at face-value.

Inoichi watched his colleague struggle to come to terms with the explosive information he relayed with an understanding gaze, to his credit. He wouldn't have believed it himself if he hadn't of discovered it in the realm of the boy's suppressed thoughts.

"It would be better if I showed you," He insisted, startling the Jounin specialist out of her struggling thoughts of acceptance. She jolted in a way to suggest she had blocked out her surroundings, fully embracing her own little world like a legitimate absentminded bubblehead would.

"Oh yeah? How're you gonna do that?" She quipped, purely on reflex. When stressed to limits far beyond relief, smash the first defence mechanism button within arm's reach. Just so happened being snarky was one of hers, "With your freaky powers?" She was vaguely aware she had just taken on the role of the pot and brandished Inoichi the black kettle, but at that point she simply didn't care to bullshit herself on hypocrisies.

She just had to cope, by any means possible.

Inoichi was more than perceptive enough to see she meant no harm with her "unintended" dig at his abilities, that it was purely her way of coping with the unfathomable revelation he dropped on them with no forewarning. Part of the benefits of having such an ability tailor-made for exploring the physics of any human without a mental barrier was the better understanding of humans as a whole.

Everyone had their own unique way of coping with astonishing bombshells. Knowing such a thing was small potatoes for a mind reader, "Just relax and place your hand on my shoulder," He just advised on an approach to her, with a comforting smile a father would give his daughter, "There'll be no lasting damages done I assure you."

"Well, okay!" Anko accepted brassily, another witty remark already rolling off the tip of her tongue, "But if this thing screws me over, I'm suing pal."

His smile only softened, "I'll be ready," He assured, jokingly. Business mode swiftly kicked into gear when he glanced over to his fellow Jounin by Anko's right, "Kakashi." Kakashi merely nodded, moving a few inches to the left in front of Hiruzen's desk to grasp Inoichi's other shoulder, "Lord Hokage." He extended a hand like a young person offering to assist the elderly across the street.

Hiruzen hummed with a grave expression hardening his wizened face. One weathered palm found its way atop the infinitely healthier hand.

A deafening silence drowned out all semblance of noise like a small boat being swallowed whole by the ocean, increasing the tension through the roof and beyond like a heater thermometer being turned up to its maximum capacity. A gulp of swallowed nerves from the only kunoichi echoed in the void of thunderous silence they'd surrounded themselves in.

No one dared to make eye-contact.

The seconds clicked down in Inoichi's head.

 _Five._

 _Four._

 _Three._

 _Two._

 _One._

But none would be prepared for what was in store.

With a splash of noise reverberating in their ears, they submerged themselves deep into the oceanic abyss of Goten's memories. Worlds fading in the darkness, only partly lit up by the crimson-red fluids of the body before a primal, beast-like roar forced them to pull out as though they were out of breath, wide eyes frozen in petrified shock. Their hearts were completing against each other in an endless marathon of unstoppable speedy beats. They could hear them _thundering_ against their ears like a dong.

A heathy tan would've looked non-existent on their terribly pale faces right at that moment.

Seconds and minutes passed before anyone of them were ready to comment on the unspeakable horrors and bizarre reality they found in the seemingly absentminded boy's head, and even after minutes of recovery there was only really one exclamation that sprung to mind to sum up the sheer absurdity and terror they just watched like a movie.

"Holy shit."

Anko was spokeswoman.

"Seconded," Kakashi agreed, simply. A sheen of pure horrified sweat he wasn't even sure he could produce gleamed over his entire masked visage. He inhaled deeply, slowly raising from his winded position like a defeated warrior self-reflecting, "Goten…"

Leafy-green pupliess eyes beside him were a mirrored reflection of his own, deep in contemplative sorrow, "Yeah." No other words were needed and so, Inoichi spoke no more. They all attended the same theatre of both nightmares and dreams.

The "dream half" representing the wondrous high-tech futuristic devices and strangely humanoid animals of Goten's world and the nightmare half being _everything else ever_ , from the ludicrously galaxy-height levels of power to where even the weakest "human" of their world could effortlessly rule unequalled in theirs with an iron fist, to the crazed destruction of imagination wrought by the Majin Buu creature (Seriously, that candy segment of Goten's memories were going to haunt them for life) and lastly, to the monstrous demon-like Godzilla thrashing mindlessly in (assumedly) of the mindscape of all Saiyans with a tail, triggered by the sight of a full moon like the long-lost brother of a werewolf.

Its Galaxy-like pool of pure destructive power made the _Kyuubi's_ seem like a puddle by comparison. The Kyuubi, indisputably the strongest living entity in the ninja world until the boys dethroned him, was nothing more than some mindless ape's plaything. The term _let that sink in_ could not be more appropriate.

The urge to lay down became the new unbearable scratch all of a sudden.

"Well, least we know why they're so damned strong," Anko offered, wrinkling her nose in a suspicious grimace. The high-tech devices so suited for extended periods of training and endurance were nothing short of cheat codes.

"They grow as far as their potential allows," Hiruzen was on hand to shoot down any such implications of downplay, almost playing the part of an offended diehard fan of theirs, "We mustn't forget that." Yes, they had convenient training rooms like the Hyperbolic Time (or used to) and gravity chambers enabling them to make the most of their absurdly high potential, but they still had to have possess the inherent talent to abuse their cheat devices so. If anyone could become as powerful as them simply by training endlessly, the superhumans of their world's Special Defence Force would be on their level.

"Yeah, I get that," She acknowledged, meeting him half-way a tad defensively, "But c'mon! They have a freaking room that lets them train for a year in a day!" Arms were decisively locked beneath a gorgeous bosom in finality, "If that's not taking a shortcut then I'm a snake's aunt." Case closed.

Hiruzen handled the suppressing of an awkward blush threatening to flow over his cheeks like a true expert seal master, pressing the tip of his hat over his sheepish scowl, "Duly noted."

The chance to smirk victoriously was a prescription the doctor couldn't have ordered at any better time to reignite the wild flames of her heart that the fear of this whole situation had doused, warming her chilled bones right back up.

Unfortunately, they weren't out the deep woods yet of this otherworldly meeting so Inoichi just had to throw a wet blanket over her parade, "So, what should we do about _that_?" _That_ was a thing so thoroughly deserving of the "No Further Descriptions Needed" seal of validation.

Its purely animistic bloodshot eyes and monstrously loud roar were distinctive enough that even the smallest hints would trigger one's memory of the Godzilla's gigantic form.

Although, despite the court-like multitude of the action needing to be taken to prevent the awakening of the beast roaming freely in Goten's mindscape, hesitation wasn't to be detected in Hiruzen's demand, "Seal it."

With laser-like accuracy, Anko's askance gaze shot his way, "Really?"

He didn't even blink, "Certainly."

"Well, that would make the most sense," Kakashi took the volunteer work of Mr Reason. Ideally, they would want to add the demon-like ape to their clan archives of bloodline traits. Such power, such water-inducing from the mouth power, had the potential of being invaluable to Konoha in the years to come if he was following the leader of the village right.

This point sailed over Anko's head as she donned the cap of Captain Obvious, "I was just going to suggest we rip that flurry sucker off the kid's ass." Problem solved, _but_ \- and there was always a but.

"No, then he would lose the ability to transform," The look she was sending him screamed duh, so Hiruzen knew explanations were needed, "I want him to gain full mastery of the foul beast within," Her eyes cleared of the clouds previously blocking them, but still he finished, "According to his older brother, it's possible for them to maintain consciousness while in the Oozaru state as Trunks' father once apparently demonstrated."

Like a fully assembled puzzle, the pieces all fell into place, "I see."

A nod, "Indeed. If young Goten himself can gain mastery of the Oozaru's power, the likelihood of his children accomplishing such also will triple, which will provide Konoha an invaluable asset in the many years after his passing."

Before the snake mistress of the obvious could highlight the major wrench in Hiruzen's plans, Inoichi guided her on his path of thinking, "I thought as much as well," He mentioned, "From what I could gather in regard to the eternal dragon's power, he can grant any wish, but only in the scope of his creator's abilities. The creator of the eternal dragon and overseer of their world is only as strong as a regular teenage boy." Meaning not strong at all, and since the feat of ripping open a getaway to their world was performed by a creature of immense power, it was safe to assume Shenron would be unable to replicate that.

Her lips took on the form of the beast within the Saiyans in a feral smirk, "Heh! So their one get out-of-jail free card is a dud, huh?" They were banking on Shenron providing them the tickets out of here, putting all their eggs into one account so to speak, but, for as wondrous as that mythical creature was (seriously, what they wouldn't give to have the ability to wish back their loved ones) he also had limitations; limitations they had overlooked because they were, after all, just children, "Guess we can start planning for the future."

"Certainly," Hiruzen nodded, "It is vital Konoha maintains their traits even after their passing, even if we must arrange a marriage for each of them." Especially the Oozaru trait. He knew how unlikely it was that their off springs would ever be as powerful as them. Children rarely inherited the talent of their parents and even if their children somehow do, they still wouldn't have the environment (training chambers in particular) around them to make the most of their potential.

No, there was little to no chance of their descendants ever being as powerful. Hiruzen knew that better than anyone. Even after the decades past since the deaths of the famous Senju brothers, no one had ever come close to even matching Tobirama's power much less Hashirama's. Lord Fourth was a close contender to rivalling Tobirama's power, but beside from making Lord Second's famed Flying Thunder God Jutsu his own, which was impressive in of itself, he could never gain the same absurd chakra levels the younger Senju brother possessed; the kind of oceanic reserves that enabled Tobirama to force a lesser shinobi to his knees just by flaring his Chakra! And his were still barely half the size of his older brother's, the God of Shinobi.

"Heh. So we just get the little turds to spread their seeds, huh?"

"I wouldn't quite word it like that dear Anko, but indeed, that's the bare minimum of it."

"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," Kakashi insisted, delightfully secretive expression plating on his masked visage, "Goten and Sakura have been growing rather close. I'd let that play out first."

"Then it's settled. I will have Jiraiya summoned back to seal away Goten's Oozaru. In the meantime, no one is to speak of this matter. I'm classifying it as an S-ranked secret punishable by imprisonment."

"Understood, Lord Hokage."

"Dismissed."

They disbanded, heading over to the door. When Kakashi was the last one to make his exit, Hiruzen stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, and Kakashi."

He turned back.

"Yes, Lord Hokage?"

"Be certain to inform young Goten he is not to leave the premises of the central tower under any circumstance. We would not want him spotting a full moon and transforming now."

An eye smile.

"Of course."

* * *

Small, delicate bloody hands weaved their way through the pointy thorns of the woods, still unable to stop pieces of its twigs from getting into the crimson hair of their owner, "Ow!" She yelped from a particularly sharp thorn cutting deeply into her digit. The bespectacled girl stared at her bleeding thumb, doubt slowly resurfacing from the furthest reaches of her mind that she had shoved it into and blocked out with delusional self-assurance, "No!" She forced it down again, sucking onto her thumb to stop the bleeding, 'I can't stop now, not when I'm so close to reaching my baby."

She remained fully determined to reach the endless beacon of masculine power she had to call her own. If she was in a better state of mind, she might have called herself out on the hypocrisy of _fearing_ the gigantic wall of power back in the first phase of the Chunin Exams to being enamoured with it once he saved her, but she wasn't! And so, the delusional redhead continued to trudge toward her man.

And she would have him.

* * *

New Kids on the Block

 **C**

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 **A**

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 **R**

 **FOURTEEN**

Planning Ahead

The scenery was breathtakingly majestic; a clear azure sky and a brilliant sun of a bright summer day, complemented by the whirlwinds of cherry-blossomed petals dancing all around the enticed hybrid. A mesmerised gaze followed the swirling petals gathering in the intensely tranquil breeze with feet stoop atop a colourful array of flowers.

"Wow," The tailed boy murmured, reaching up on his tiptoes. A sakura petal collided soothingly against his palm, which he would hold onto, "It's so pretty."

"Goten." He flinched lightly, slowly turning to a sight far surpassing the pleasant beauty of any cherry-blossomed littered scene. If he had been more confident in himself, he might have told her just what was on his mind, regardless of how cheesy it ultimately sounded. He wasn't though, so he just settled for staring at the beauty before him, breathless at the loving smile she gave him.

"Sakura."

"Why are you staring at me, silly?" She teased him, playfully. She reached over to grab his hand, sending a tingling sensation through him, "Come on! They're all waiting for us."

The butterflies ceased their settling in his stomach long enough for him to wonder, "Huh?" She offered no explanation, only to continue to beam toward him with that same loving smile that made his heart flutter in his chest and gestured ahead to an establishment Goten always would've recognized even colour-blind with one-eye, "Ah!" He gasped, rubbing his eyes with his free hand before looking again, but the sight remained, "I'm home!" The sight of his childhood home, in all its humble glory, "But why come? I thought we were in the Chunin Exams."

"Don't be silly, Goten," Sakura dodged past Goten's question with a giggle behind her hand, "You promised me you'd take me to meet your family."

"I did?" He tipped his head to the side.

"Uh-huh!" She beamed, tugging him along, "Let's go. I really want to meet your Mom."

"Oh, okay," He agreed wholeheartedly, falling in step with the angel beside him; her scent intoxicating to his senses. No other scent mattered but the heavenly smell of the girl by his side. His nose had made hers priority number one, 'Sakura smells really nice.' A blush flowed over his small, shy smile.

He was relieved his embarrassment of enjoying Sakura's presence was derailed by the creaking sound of a door being opened. Eyes shooting forward on reflex, his heart swelled in euphoric relief, pupils glistening like puddles reflecting the bright sunlight. There he stood, in all his smartly-dressed sophisticated glory, familiar raven hair spiked up in a short flat top.

"Go… han?" The name breathlessly left his lips in each syllable, wide eyes disbelieving to the sight of his beloved older brother standing welcomingly in the doorway of their home.

"Goten!" He waved the youngest Son family member over, "Glad you could make it, bro!"

"Yay, Gohan!" He jetted forward, racing into his inviting embrace, "You're back!"

"Of course," He assured, softly. He laid a hand on his little brother's Goku-hair, stroking it tenderly, "Shenron made sure of it."

He giggled, happily nestling against his brother's stomach, "Yeah."

"Goten," An intense feeling of jubilant relief poured through his veins. The voice was unmistakable; kind, warm and affectionate. He was tearing up even before her doting smile appeared from the shadows of the doorway.

"Mom."

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" She gestured to an affectionately smiling kunoichi, patiently allowing Goten to have his moment.

"Yeah, scamp," An older version of Goten sauntered out beside his mother, arms folded behind his head in a Naruto-like manner of careless insouciance, "We've been dying to meet her for ages now!"

"Daddy!" He beamed. Goku just flashed him their signature family grin and jerked a thumb in Sakura's direction, "Oh right." He spun to the pink-haired kunoichi, his cheeks suddenly resembling her hair at her affectionate gaze, "Sakura!"

"Yes," She answered, lovingly.

He swallowed a huge lump down his throat and pointed over to his family, watching their little boy with prideful smiles. Goku had moved over to ChiChi and embraced with one muscled arm, "This is my family," He beamed at his older brother, "That's my big brother, Gohan."

"It's nice to meet you, Gohan," She bowed respectfully.

"Likewise," Gohan said, returning the gesture.

Goten swept his finger over to his folks, "And those are my Mommy and Daddy, ChiChi and Goku."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you both, Mr and Mrs Son," She afforded the parents of her love the same privilege and respect of his brother, upper body dipping low and deep in a bow, practically having her entire posture lit up by ChiChi's intensely bright beam of admiration of her proper courtesy, "I've been dying to meet you all for ages now, too. Goten told me such wonderful things about you all."

"Yeah, I bet. The little tyke wouldn't stop writing about you either Sakura in the letters he sent us from the leafy place or whatever."

"Konoha, Dad."

"Yeah, that."

Sakura blushed. Softly said, "I'm so glad."

"Oh, my baby!" ChiChi gushed, biting the hem of her sunshine Chinese dress, tears building up in her eyes. Said baby blushed with the brightest smile of shy embarrassment forming on his lips while his brother and father grinned at ChiChi in an affectionately humorous manner, "Mommy's so proud of you. You found someone so well-mannered!"

The shade of pink lighting up his cheeks darkened while his father pulled his mother into a gentle, comforting hold, letting her cry tears of unbridled joy on his shoulder, "This means Sakura's gonna be Gohan's new sister, right!?" He asked excitedly.

A short series of chuckles bubbled from Gohan's throat, "You got it, squirt."

"Yay!" He cheered, circling his flushed wife-to-be with arms extended back like a bird with wings in the sky, "Son Sakura!"

The older Son men shared a heartfelt laugh while the apparent bride-to-be blushed under Goten's rumbustious attention. ChiChi continued to soak Goku's shoulder.

"C'mon guys! What's say we celebrate the engagement with some grub!" Goku suggested, gesturing them inside with an arm thrown over his spiky head, "Oh, man! I could go for some-." He never got to finish. An malevolently pink-purplish light abruptly enveloped him like a suit of armour, ripping a painful whine from his throat.

"Dad!"

"Goku!"

"What's happening to him?"

A grave chill froze Goten's blood solid. He would recognize that devilish beam of sickening sugary delight anywhere. There were nights when the images of the monstrous wave turning a City's population into sweets kept him up, "No, Daddy!" He could only watch on in helpless fright as his father's form shrunk to the size of a cup, skin hardening and darkening to mud-brown, limps pressing together and face converting to that of an action-figure.

The dull thud signalled the drop of what remained of Son Goku.

Suddenly, the bright skies overhead of euphoric innocence was swept over by a sea of malevolent darkened grey, once pristine white clouds now sullied and warped to a devilish purple. Even the serene breeze now roared with spiteful, biting cyclones, tearing up the flower garden in a matter of mere seconds.

"Oh my god," Sakura gasped, breathlessly, hands flying to her mouth.

ChiChi almost fainted.

A familiar sinister chuckle unpleasantly greeted their ears. Eyes blazing with murderous rage, the Son brothers wheeled around sharply, trying to melt the maliciously smiling visage veiled in the shadows of malevolence, "Chocolate! That's what I think I'll go for," He rasped, mocking Goku's earlier attempted desire.

"Buu!" Gohan seethed. Golden rays erupted over his form, shielded in deadly sparks of electricity without any hesitance. He rushed the freakishly tall creature that the scholar in him could only describe as Hell's creation but…

But Buu was faster. A flick of his merciless antenna later and Gohan was shrouded in the same satanic power of sugary malevolence as his father.

"Ahhhhh!" He roared, but his screams were silenced. He, too, dropped to the ground as a bar of chocolate shaped as himself.

"Big brother!" Goten cried, shielding Sakura who cowed behind him.

"Gohan!" ChiChi screamed, which turned out to be the last semblance of any normal thought process running through her mind. She scorpion kicked her defence mechanism button, coating her previously saddened posture in an self-righteous feminine aura of tsundere bravado, "Now look here you!"

"Mom, don't!" Goten pleaded, knowing full well how futile it was. When his mother got this, nothing was stopping her.

She marched right past her son and up to Buu, squaring entirely ignorantly up to him, "I've had just about enough of you hurting my loved ones! Bring back my Goku and Gohan or else!" She punctuated her threat by slapping him audibly across the cheek, drawing visible cringes from Sakura and Goten.

Buu's malevolently wide grin remained etched to his face, "You like eggs again?" A startled blink were her last actions before she, too, was bathed in the sinister wave of edible vitriol, and from the beam emerged an egg, complete with Buu's cruel chuckles.

"Mom!" Goten roared in despair. He reached forward, but it was too late. Buu's heel came crashing down like an executioner's axe, crushing his mother's remains. Sakura covered her eyes, unable to watch the brutal execution of her sweetheart's mother as Goten's heart sunk, "Ah!"

"Hahaha," Buu began to laugh, rising his arms, "And then there was one!"

It was obvious who he was referring to and what the idea was behind his decimation of his loved ones and Goten couldn't let that happen. Overcome with a blinding fury and a desire to protect his last remaining love one, Goten burst into race's legendary state and rushed Buu, "I'll kill you!"

Buu swatted him away with a simple backhand as though he were a fly, sending him sprawling across the now bare dirt ground of the once flower-littered ground that the sinister winds had uprooted and carried away, "Ahhhhhh!"

"Goten!" Sakura cried. An immense fear gripped her heart as if it was grabbed by a bear's paw when an intimidatingly huge shadow eclipsed her body, "No," She stumbled clumsily backward, but the monstrous beast closed the distance, "Please, no."

"What should Buu turn you into?" Buu asked, toying with his prey, "Woo! Buu knows. Gumball, for the sweet little girl."

"No," He granted his thoroughly decimated opponent a sadistically mocking grin over his shoulder, "Stop. I won't let you," He stated, even though he already looked like he had gone through ten rounds with the mighty creature of godlike might. He was ruined, clutching at his severely injured arm and glaring at Buu with one good eye. It terrified him to realize just how much damage he had been dealt just by Buu's backhand alone, never mind a punch. He shuddered to think what would happen to him if Buu punched him with a sample of his true power, but still he had to try, for he couldn't let Sakura die.

She was the only one left in his life right now.

Buu's demonic grin and glowing pupils widened and brightened at him before he turned back to a trembling Sakura, readying his antenna.

"No!" Goten released a war-like cry, forcing his battered body to a sprint – for all the good it did: none. The glow had already encased Sakura before he could get even half way to them to prevent it, "Sakuraaaaaaaa!"

"Ah, Gotennnnnnnnnn!" And the final remnants of her bloodcurdling scream of her beloved faded in the chill winds of the desolate world Buu's mere presence had created, shattering the final fragments of Goten's heart.

Widening eyes of painstaking despair fossilized, he slumped to his knees; the pink petal he had scooped up earlier drifted agonizingly away from his palm, "Sa-ku-ra," He mumbled her name, tears sliding down his cheeks slowly.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Buu laughed uproariously, "Now you're all alone just like Buu, little man!" He bragged, his bellows thundering in the distance but Goten just didn't have the will to contest him anymore.

...

Goten bolted upright hastily, horrified face drenched in his own freezing cold sweat, "Ahhh!" He let loose a hushed scream in the vast darkness, heavy, accelerated breathing ragged and heart rate racing a mile a minute in his chest.

Small movement stirred beside him, catching his attention. He roamed his startled gaze to the side of his bed to find a lump rustling underneath its sheets, "Hn," The Uchiha's tiredly grumpy grunt floated through his covers. Mustering up the energy, he hurled himself onto his back, stifling a yawn as he glanced over to their team's strongest member, "Night terrors again?" This was the fourth time it had happened, each time resulting in Goten bolting up and disturbing Sasuke from his slumber. Naruto was too much of a heavy sleeper to ever be woken up, unfortunately for Sasuke.

Goten pulled his knees up to his chest to wrap himself into a protective ball of insecurity, "Uh-huh." Sasuke snorted slothfully through his nostrils, sounding irritated. A pang of guilt spiked Goten's heart, "I'm sorry for waking you up again, Mr Sasuke."

"Don't be," Sasuke assured. He wasn't mad at him. Sure, he was annoyed at being awoken up again, but having gone through similar spells in his earlier adolescence when his entire clan was butchered, he was sensitive to Goten's struggles. It was why he hadn't broached the subject of Goten's nightmares because he knew better than anyone a traumatised individual did not want to open up so easily.

Irony tickled Sasuke's nonexistent sense of humour. He thought he would never be able to relate to Goten and his happy-go-lucky goofball persona, but he arguably ended up empathising with him the deepest.

They were both two scarred souls of the same pond.

"Go walk it off," He recommended, as always.

"Okay," Goten agreed, slipping out of his bed wearing a borrowed pair of black shorts and a short-sleeved white t-shirt. Thank heavens they provided clothes for (potentially) wary and ripped up applicants, along with bedrooms to camp in if they arrived way before the deadline like Team 7 and 8 did. Rooms even came equipped with a bathroom, which was convenient since it meant their only female companion could change in privacy. Speaking of their lone kunoichi, Goten's eyes landed on her when he made his way over to the door, "...Sakura," He murmured.

This wasn't the first time he had dreamt about her. He didn't understand why these sexual feelings for the luscious kunoichi were only now blossoming. Ever since she had accidentally crawled on top of him to better search his face for any small alien feature on his person, he couldn't get her off his mind and could barely stand to be near her without going stir-crazy, so he avoided her, standing near Tenten and talking about nothing in particular even when it was clear his time with her greatly annoyed Sakura.

He hurt his conscience to anger the pink-haired kunoichi but he just couldn't be near her.

Before the guilt could entirely devour his conscience, he slipped away, never noticing the open emerald eyes shining hurt through the shadows.

"Goten."

xXx

(Elsewhere - Location Unknown)

xXx

The bruising heavy-handed blow of a fist violently making contact with a face _echoed_ in a peculiar tunnel-like void setting, swallowing the dull thump of the small body the muscled fist had hammered across the stone-like flooring of the void they resided in.

"Ow, Daad!" A younger, smaller version of the lavender haired Saiyan whined, pulling himself up to a seated position with a glowing, fattened red left cheek resembling an apple. Tears gathered in the edges of his eyes like dust bunnies, but his dam held strong. He knew better otherwise. His manly, diehard hater of all things feminine and soft, father wouldn't allow it. He would really give him something to cry about, then his feisty mother would sentence his father to weeks on end on the couch.

Dinners would be awkward, and no one wanted that.

There he was. The _king_ of all Saiyans and Father of Badasses himself, _towering_ over him. Even short by adult standards, his father always felt huger than even the freakishly tall Piccolo and life itself, such was his _imposing_ presence. He could be in another room and everyone in the household would still feel him.

Papa bear submerged his cub in the full force of his intent with a stare infused with dragon-like fangs, making him squirm and whine in his throat, "If you're a real Saiyan, you'll grow this back." As firm as an iron-grip gruff declaration, spoken with all the sophistication of a regal prince as he clutched his son's severed monkey-like appendage as though it was a hand-grip _unforgivingly_. So very like his father.

Confusion had him blinking his eyes like he was suffering from a close-range flash of the solar flare. Nerves rumbled in his stomach at his father's increasing gaze of impatience, "H-Huh? I don't get it, Dad? Whaddya mean, become a real Saiyan?" He pleaded, but it wasn't to be answered.

A gust of frosty wind flowing over Vegeta's shoulder rolled out the red carpet for his exit.

"Dad, wait!" Trunks begged, falling forward on all fours, "Dad!" But each one fell on deaf ears. The man he looked up to as the pinnacle of what he aspired to be continued to drift away from him like that one boat that had taken off without you. His heart essentially transformed into an anchor with the despair that weighed him down, "Dadddd!"

A sudden flash of white light knocked him out of the void, startled eyes wide gazing up to a ceiling flooded in shadows with his breathing ragged as though he just finished the fight of his life.

"What the heck?" He murmured in turn of a huge silent intake of air. He needed to ascertain his surroundings. The comforting surface and material his body laid on coupled with the blanket gave that away.

"Pssh." His heightened hearing picked up on the quiet whisper of his lone female teammate from across their borrowed room. "Are you okay, Trunks?"

"Yeah." He turned his head both sides to where his male teammates were placed on their own single beds, sleeping in manners wholly contrary to the other as though they were fraternal twins. Kiba loud and ungraceful, Shino soundless and graceful, "Go back to sleep."

"O-Oh, okay," A pause. Then a hesitate apology, "I'm sorry."

"It's no big deal." A murmured lie, hiding his annoyance, "Just go back to sleep. Talk to ya in the morning."

"Okay."

Though, having given that request/demand, Trunks wasn't sure if he could do so himself. That dream had kick-started his line of thinking into overdrive which just spelled catastrophic in red big letters on the great screen. His normal thinking was more than enough to keep him awake for hours on end as it was like he just drank ten cups of caffeine. Going into overdrive was the equivalent of a sugar rush.

No chance of him falling back to sleep now.

'What'd Dad mean by that?' He regarded the shadowy ceiling above with palms tucked beneath his head. It was something which had always ate away at him since its occurrence. As the years went by, he managed to repress the memory, but seeing Goten's regrown tail manage to stir it like a slumbering beast within. Goten was lost in the woods of bewilderment as to how it happened, and his teammates wasn't much help either. Well, at least not at first.

Before he departed to turn in for the night, Sakura caught up to him to have a word alone, filling him in on his best friend's uncharacteristic behaviour during his annihilation of the evil snake monster. Cold and efficient – So very unlike him.

'Dad must've been talking about tapping into my Saiyan instincts,' He scowled, darkening eyes blending into the shadows like bats to the night. He had come to that conclusion long before now, since Sakura clued him in on Goten's bizarre state of repression. He would've made a worthy candidate for captain obvious, such was the easy nature of the answer, so then, why did his heart feel so unfulfilled and bloated with regret and sorrow?

Ironically, this was one thing he just couldn't think about.

"This is so dumb! I'm done thinking about it." He whispered, harshly, roughly turning onto his side.

Emotions were so stupid, girly and should be hated.

Beautiful, clear violet eyes were washed over with sympathetic concern for the powerhouse's struggles to connect with his feelings, "Oh Trunks."

XxX

The remaining days of the duration of the hunter phase of the exam went by at a pace a snail would've breezed past like a cheetah to Trunks. With little to nothing to do to keep his mind preoccupied, he was bored out of his skull, spending most of his time wishing he hadn't rushed through the second phase. If he had been privy to the _utter_ lack of anything of interest in the waiting area he certainly wouldn't have insisted on making a record of fastest team to reach the central tower.

Then again, he should've considered the possibility that the exam would have a waiting area for other teams to catch up.

Wow. For a thinker, Trunks occasionally had the tendency to _not_ think ahead, he learned.

Must be Goten's influence rubbing off on him.

Ugh. Just his luck.

These last few days were some of the most torturous hours he had ever experienced. He oddly wondered if the excruciating boredom he barely endured was comparable in anyway small way to the dull frustration mandatory volunteers face when on community service duty.

Just a snore fest all round. He couldn't even go outside with Goten to spar because he was ordered not to step outside until his Oozaru problem could be taken care of.

"Is it really only us here?" Tenten, the girl Trunks felt bared an uncanny ethnic-resemblance to Goten's mother, noted in a murmur beside her teammates, only picked up by the hybrid's heightened hearing. He found her fondness of his best friend ironic given their cultural similarities. Sakura's jealousy only briefly added to his slight amusement.

Make no mistake, though. It was barely much of a distraction. He was still bored stiff.

Digressing from the hybrid's incomparable boredom, the numbered-name girl brought up a good point. Of all the plethora of teams from different neighbouring villages once gathered in the first phase of the Chunin exams, the only ones present now were all from Konoha. His team, Goten's team, Ino's team and those guys; the wuss who earlier surrendered his scroll to him for Ino, baring the same eyes as his teammate, the ChiChi-like girl and the kid with the bushiest eyebrows ever who seriously looked like he needed to lay off the green.

"Are you really surprised?" The boy with eyes like crystal rhetorically asked. A gesture of his head in the direction of Konoha's winning weapons, "With those two in our ranks, they would have been fighting a tedious battle they were fated to lose."

Her stare of mystified fascination lingered on Goten's spiky head from across the line up, "I guess so," She sighed. Shivered. The image and noise of the destructive blast that had eclipsed the entirety of the village sent chills down her spine, "I mean, if Goten wasn't on our side, I probably would've turned tail and hiked it out of here too."

They were sure either he or his fellow associate in overwhelming chakra capacity were responsible for the blast even before Tenten got the answer out of him herself. There was literally no one else other than them who had the _immense_ oceanic reserves neccessary to produce such an explosion of power, and yes, Neji was counting the Hokage. Even the leader of the village was outmatched in pure Chakra levels by the two.

The tail raised the most question marks, but beside Goten and his team just insisting it was a long story, they didn't budge on the matter. They raked their brains for hours and days ascertaining just what the hell Goten was, but their closest guess was that he was a part of some animistic clan and even that they weren't entirely sure of.

Meanwhile, on the senior side of things, they were all stood in front of the four teams, completely transfixed.

"Incredible." Kurenai breathed.

"Now here's a sight I thought I wouldn't see." Asuma murmured beside her.

"Well, at least now I can use the 'I told you so' line on Iruka next time I see him." Kakashi reasoned.

"Haha! The springs of our youth burns even brighter than any other village in the nation. Way to go, Lee!" Gai praised.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!" Lee accepted.

"Un-fucking-believable." Anko said with a deep sigh, 'I knew the brats were freaky strong, but _this_ is too much.' No one else turned up (beside theirs) but Kurenai's and Gai's squads, and they were both from Konoha. It was the Konoha fest. "Ah…"

She supposed she shouldn't look a gift's horse in the mouth considering she was the one who insisted the numbers would be trimmed by more than half after Mr soft-hearted let virtually everyone pass the first phase of the exam, but it just didn't feel satisfying.

The fat wasn't trimmed by anything she did or influenced. No, the unworthy were all scared yellow by the presence of Konoha's aliens. Granted, if she was participating in the exam as an applicant at the same time Goten's signature family attack eclipsed the village she probably would've taken for the hills too with her tail wrapped firmly between her legs.

Hiruzen was glowing, both with pride for the strength of their youth and hysterical relief at their own fortune. Needlessly to say, he realized Ino's team had a free pass via being escorted by Trunks, but he'd argue that was the whole point of being ninjas – finding clever ways to dig themselves out of tight solutions.

No one in the world was like those Saiyan boys, having enough power where they could brute force their way through any situation. In that case they had to get creative and strategically or connivingly plan their route to safety and they did the latter admirably, in his humble opinion.

It was better them than another team from a rivalling nation that would've meant sending invitations to their Kage to watch the next round of proceedings. For obvious reasons, he was glad to avoid that. Now no other village could scout their Saiyan prospects. They could be told of their prowess by the Genins they sent to the village to take place in the exams in the first place, but word of mouth wasn't nowhere near as invaluable as on-hand observation.

"Welcome." He greeted, wholesomely. They quietened down among themselves, eyes forward to give their full leader their full attention. His smile warmed like a warm spring day, "And might I say congratulations for passing the second phrase. You have all demonstrated a remarkable combination of cunning and strength to reach this point and it is with great pride I welcome you to the Third and final phase of the Chunin Exams."

He allowed them to relish in the praise he showered them in and the reactions which emerged from tem were like a box of different flavoured chocolates; full of variety, from cheerful, to cool or just indifferent.

"Woo!" Naruto whooped, hopping excitedly in place like a grasshopper. Grinning, he confidently issued, "Bring on the final test old man!" One arm was swung wide around Goten's neck, "Me and my team can take anything you throw at us."

The other teams gave firm nods to express their own confidence for the final trial lying in wait for them, though most looked quite appalled at the way Naruto casually addressed their Hokage with seemingly no semblance of respect

Hinata looked appropriately embarrassed for his sake, "Oh Naruto."

Completely contrary to the reaction everyone other than the members of Team 7 and Trunks thought Hiruzen was going to show to Naruto to the offhand manner of which he addressed him with, he smirked with a sharpened edge of playfulness, "Oh? I'd say that is quite inconvenient for you then, young Naruto."

Deflated, Naruto's arm plummeted from Goten's shoulder, "Wait. What?" His spider-like ninja senses were sending him all kinds of unpleasant vibes being indicated by his grandfatherly-figure's cryptic smirk.

It did not falter either, "It just so happens this next trial you will all undertake is an individual one. You will be comple-."

The thunderous thump of a metal object slamming aggressively against the concrete wall of the arena-like hall they were assembled in silenced Hiruzen mid-sentence. Stiffened, the youngsters and the seniors all looked over (their shoulders) and forward respectively to find a silhouette standing tall in the open entrance the intruder had pried open.

"Holy crap!"

"There you are!"

Paled, Trunks gaped, 'Oh crap! It's her!' He quickly righted his head, pinning his gaze anywhere but the petite red-haired girl marching toward them, though unfortunately, his unnatural reaction did not go unnoticed by his girlfriend, but he didn't notice her narrowing her eyes on him, 'How the heck did she find me? I thought I ditched her!'

"Trunks." Ino's voice could've frozen over magma, such was the dangerously high-level of its frosty warning, "Who is that?"

"Nobody!" He unintentionally yelped. He mentally booted himself through a mountain to his utterly uncool response to Ino's assertion. He wasn't supposed to react like that, but he was terrified of blowing his chance with her. Put a ballsy girl trying to step to him, he would beat her down easily, but this wasn't Anko trying to throw her weight around. It was a girl who wanted to be with him and beating her down wouldn't exactly inspire her to.

Sadly for Trunks, his loud unnatural answer had gathered much unwanted spectators. All eyes and heads turned his way.

"You know her, Trunks?" Goten asked, innocently enough.

"Shut up, Goten."

"Wait." Naruto bared the full force of the enraged Saiyan's ire with a squinted eyed shield of askance nonchalance, arms tucked over his chest, "So you have Ino _and_ this girl too!"

"Shut up, dork."

"Dude," And there was Kiba, joining in on his embarrassment. Difference was, his needling was intentional, "I knew you were a bit of an asshole but I didn't think you were a two-timing scumbag too."

"Shut up, dude!"

"Man, it's not fair!" Naruto whined. Slumped over, he complained further as if karma had it out for him, "First Goten gets Sakura and Tenten and now Trunks has two girls," A comical rain cloud hovered over his head in sync with the beet red curtains of embarrassment sweeping over the faces of the former trio he mentioned, "When am I gonna get lucky, huh?"

A pair of lithe index fingers pushed against each other, mirroring the blushing bridge forming over the nose of the Hyuga maiden. A very murmured attempt of a persistence, "Naruto, I-." Hinata was cut off.

"What?!" Sakura roared.

"Shut up, dork!"

Goten frantically swatted Naruto's shoulder in a manner of persistence as if he had just spilled milked over his shoulder and was desperately trying to scrub it off, "Naruto, stop it!" Ears burning hotly at the pair of curious emerald eyes on his person, the volume of his voice lowered to almost mouse-like proportions, "You're embarrassing me."

Neji turned toward his own team, particularly the lone female whom the fool in orange implied had a fling with his walking chakra-vessel of a teammate, "Is there something you are not telling us?"

Tenten's previously awkwardly blank expression of the bizarre proceedings froze in startled surprise, "Uh." The Byakugan-wielder didn't even need to fully elaborate. The implications were plain to see in his smirk, "Don't ask me! I don't know what that idiot's talking about!"

"Yes! Clearly this is a sign of eternal love and it is our duty as Tenten's loyal teammates to support her choice of companionship!" Lee incited, either disregarding or not seeing Tenten's fiery expression of annoyance, flashing his progenitor a thumbs-up and a flashy tooth, 'How is that Gai-sensei?'

Gai mirrored his actions, 'Nice one, Lee!'

"Would you cut that out?!" The supposed lovestruck bun-haired girl demanded, "I don't even.-" She ceased her clarification when it dawned on her just how badly she had been played. The flames of her fiery gaze dried to a shimmering annoyance, which she aimed at her only other _normal_ teammate, "Happy? Now you've got them going." Neji's smirk didn't waver.

What an asshole.

Back on the senior side of things, they didn't know quite what to make of anything. They had to assume the petite girl was obsessive compulsive or just plain obsessed with Kurenai's young "disciple" (in the bare definition of the word) if she really went through the implied trouble navigating her way through the dangerous woods by herself, if her torn rags and messy hair were any indication, just to see him. They were equally silenced. It all just had that slice of eccentricity that kept them from taking it seriously.

"Uh," Asuma attempted to point out, "Hate to play captain-obvious, but think we should, you know, step in?"

A deliciously satisfying smile of completed vengeance curled Anko's lips, "Nah! Let the little turd suffer," She cackled, savouring every single second of the arrogant asshole worriedly tearing out his hair, 'Let's see you muscle your way out of this one tough-guy!"

"Ouch! He must've been kicked your ass harder than I was told, I presume."

"Hmph."

"Told you I'd find you!" The little redheaded initiator of the wacky on-goings bragged, still marching over to the teams of shell shocked stricken Genin. By now, it was blatantly clear who her target was, which didn't bode well for the hybrid's sanity. He could practically feel his girlfriend's displeasure as if she was powering up, "And now you won't be able to resist my sexiness!" And just sent her anger levels through the roof.

The crimson fluids flowing rapidly from the noses of Naruto, Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru and Lee to her implications only exasperated Ino further.

"Oh my god! Go away!" Trunks almost begged. He was about half-way from dropping to his knees. It didn't have to come to that though, fortunately enough.

A blur materialized behind the approaching girl, trapping her in place.

"Hey, let me go!" She commanded, desperately squirming her shoulders underneath the stern full nelson hold an adult shinobi had her in, kicking out her legs when she could no longer feel them on the ground.

"I'm… sorry," A sickly paled young man in a bandana-leaf marked headband coughed apologetically, moving away from the four Konoha teams, "But this is… only for… teams who have… passed… the second phase." He erupted into a coughing fit.

"I said let go!" She continued to struggle in vain, thrashing against the larger body pressing against hers, "And stop coughing on me! It's gross!" A seed of deluded inspiration blossomed in her head like a flower, "Baby, help!"

Her plead wasn't to be answered. Rising his hand, Trunks wriggled his fingers at her in a mockingly parting gesture, deep scowl of cold irritation burned into his face, "So long, nutjob," He said sarcastically.

The last remnants of the decidedly unhinged girl were before she disappeared in the captured hold of the body flicker activating shinobi was an unbearably loud ear-screeching dramatic cry of – "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Echoing in the windy breeze of leaves and clouds of the mundane shinobi jutsu.

"Ouch! That's loud!" Naruto shouted, plugging up his ears.

Shikamaru wasn't one to miss irony where he saw it, "Yeah, no kidding, and coming from you, that's saying something."

"What was that?"

"Forget it!" He returned, just as snappishly, eyes lulling over with lazy annoyance, "I'd rather get this over with then to have to sit through some other troublesome woman trying to get in this guy's pants."

Trunks didn't have in him to return Shikamaru's sass, instead burying his head in his hands, "This is so embarrassing."

XxX

The teams of Konoha's own exited the assembly hall, some in excitement, others in nonchalance and a few in lazy irritation.

"This is such a drag," Guess which category Shikamaru fall into, craning his neck out with hands stabbed into pockets, "Can't believe we gotta fight each other."

"Well, look on the bright side," Choji offered, shining a ray of bright positivity on his best friend's view of darkened gloom of negativity, happily munching on another bag of crisp, "At least we don't have to fight Trunks or Goten in the first round."

That was a break but Shikamaru would still argue no matter who _he_ got he was screwed either way. Choji could put up a good fight against anyone not named Trunks or Goten, but he himself was another can of weak worms altogether. He had no speed, no finesse, no strength and no motivation to grind out results when the going got tough. Why didn't he just surrender when Ibiki offered him the chance again? He would've saved himself the headache.

Oh right. Because Ino, Miss Team Leader, would've given him an earful, which would've been just as bad.

"Right, but I doubt my opponent's just gonna roll over and let me win anyway," He surmised, slothfully glancing over to his opponent.

To her credit, Tenten wasn't playing her hand. The wave and the smile Shikamaru got from her were as good-natured as a warm spring-time day, "May the best shinobi win."

"Right."

The moon eyes of a defeated warrior stared ahead in calmed clarity, "It seems my journey is at its end," Neji concluded, no shame to be detected through his gaze of acceptance. He had accepted this as a foregone conclusion from the moment he learned of their presence and the immeasurable power they each possessed. Whether he draw one first or last it would've made no difference in the end, "Fate has decreed my failure."

An awkwardly dry grin curled Tenten's lips, "Yeah, tough luck getting Goten's friend on the first round," It brightened with a sassy spark as she offered him a mockingly encouraging smack-pat on the shoulder, "Better luck next year?" Satisfaction settled snuggly in her stomach like a warm soup. That should teach him not to tease her about liking some boy.

"Hmph."

"Ah, Neji!" Lee gasped, grasping his cheeks. He held up a clenched fist with honour as though he were holding the Olympic touch, "I am most appalled. You can simply not imply you are planning to concede to Mr Trunks even before the battle has begun. I admit he is a most formidable opponent, more daunting than anyone we have ever faced, but you must not yield without first giving it your all, because even in defeat we can find inspiration to better ourselves!"

Eyes bulging, Shikamaru and Choji stared in paled silence of the spandex-wearing youth giving his opinion in such an unnecessarily heartfelt passion manner, "Uh," Choji recovered first, "Is he always like that?"

Tenten humoured the younger shinobi with a sigh, "You wouldn't be the first one to ask that," They gave her dry nods in return, "You'll get used to him."

"Great." Shikamaru said sarcastically.

Neji wasn't swallowing any of Lee's opinion, "You have your ideology and I have mine."

His cheeks ballooned in a pout, "Very well. Then I will just have to shoulder the burden of representation of our squad for the both of us."

"As you wish."

"Ino, come on!" Trunks pleaded, doing everything in his power to keep himself from the proverbial dog house. He had his palms facing his chest in the typical plead of innocence posture, facing his infuriated girlfriend as they walked along with the rest of the remaining Chunin applicants, "What did you want me to do? That girl's nuts! You musta got that much from her. Do you think she's the type of person to take no for an answer? I had to bolt just to get away from her."

Ino wasn't hearing any of it. Trunks almost shivered from the freezing cold frost billowing forth from Ino's shoulder, "Hmph." She turned the other cheek from him, arms crossed over her chest in a posture of no-nonsense impatience, "You got a lot of making up to do, bub, and you can start by taking me out to dinner."

He tuned out everything after her declaration of making-up, already assuming whatever she proposed he could probably handle. Probably. He wasn't exactly confident in his capability to assuage Ino's ire but he would be damned if he didn't try, so with a heavy relenting sigh and falling shoulders, he accepted, "Fine." Until his brain actually registered her proposal and his face blushed up a storm, "Wait! What?"

Ino giggled, skipping girlishly down the hall before stopping by the end of it, pirouetting elegantly on a heel and stopping in a half-turn with her upper body leaning forward; the perfect pose of sassy confidence, "You hear me. And it better be somewhere classy, too, you got that?" She extended a palm to her bosom and rose her head high with all the pride of a regal princess, earning a shake of Tenten's head in disapproval at her dramatics, "I'm a classy girl."

"Aw, c'mon-! Hey, wait up!"

Bug-eyes were on full display again with the male duo of Ino's teammates awkwardly watching the pair's interaction of pleading and compensation; the larger one pitying the boyfriend and the intelligent one just finding the girlfriend and her gender in general a nuisance.

"Poor guy."

"Women are such a drag."

"I heard that!" Tenten stated, offended, "Not all girls are the same, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Unfortunately for the unmotivated genius of Team Ten, his lazy dismissal of the bun-haired girl's annoyance to his slandering of her gender only proceeded to rub her the wrong way, and just like a domino effect that played into her increasing motivation to hand him his behind on a silver platter, 'Oh, you little-! Just you wait, pal! Now I'm really going to kick your ass.'

"Get off me, idiot!" Kiba's roaring voice draw everyone's attention to the predicament he was in; namely his neck and head tightly imprisoned and drilled into like a nail into a wall by the orange-wrapped arm and knuckles of the loudest member of the team 7.

"Never! Not until you admit I can kick your ass!" Naruto yelled back, not budging an inch either on his demands or of his hold on Team Eight's barkiest member, loving every minute of being the dominator instead of the one dominated for once. There was just something inherently satisfying about being on top to him when he had been on the end of countless losing wars against Trunks.

"Dream on! Like yo- OW!" The tightening and added acceleration of Naruto's headlock/noggin combination ended Kiba's retort before it even got off the ground.

If their eyes were bulged before, now they were ready to fall out of their sockets watching Naruto – whom they had always looked down upon as the least skilled of their grade – casually manhandle Kiba like an older brother smacking his younger brother about. They stopped, stared, mouth hanging open ready to fall off at the depiction of the so-called dead-last of their year group effortlessly pulling a competent graduate down the hall like a rag doll.

"Uh," Choji tried, lifting one chubby bandaged-wrapped hand out of his packet of crisp to point in Naruto's direction, "Has Naruto always been that strong?"

"Naruto's always been strong!" Goten declared defensively. Holding Kiba's puppy in his arms, he glared back with his puppy-dog fury at the two's bamboozled expressions.

A predominantly potent scent he had been trying to avoid since last week wafted _irresistibly_ into nostrils, followed by a warm giggle tingling his ear, "That's right!" Sakura bragged, smirking back at the enlightened duo of her old rival's team, "And don't you forget it!"

"Uh-oh." Shikamaru nodded listlessly.

She turned to Goten wearing the kind of secretive smile that echoed 'I got your back', though it was wiped off almost instantly when Goten didn't return it. In fact, he looked almost terrified to see her.

"What's wrong?"

"Sakura," He said.

Then he ran off.

"Goten! Hey, wait up!"

* * *

1st match: Trunks vs Neji - 2nd match: Tenten vs Shikamaru - 3rd match: Rock Lee vs Choji - 4th: match Sakura vs Hinata - 5th: match Ino vs Sasuke - 6th match: Naruto vs Kiba - 7th match: Shino vs Goten.

* * *

 **And that should do it for this chapter and yeah, on this altered version of canon it's the Konoha fest. Orochimaru's henchmen of Dosu, Kin and Zaku were fodderized for the brief appearance of Hashirama and Tobirama (the remaining one was just killed outright), Kabuto and his team no longer care about the exam so they jumped out, and Gaara's team were off-screened - note last chapter Trunks when said he had to fight a raccoon guy, that being Gaara. Don't worry, I'll be getting to that in the final instalment of Trunks' adventures next chapter, but for now, lemme know what you think of the changes I've made and the main boys' development.**

 **And of course, the whole an Oozaru being in the mindscape of all Saiyans and them needing to tap into their instincts to regain their tails, that's all my unique take on it. It was never really fleshed out in canon so I feel free to take it in its own direction. I have plans for this. Look forward to it.**

 **Until next time guys and gals.**


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